F-14A Early - Revision history

U44629479: Undo revision 192068 by U181072191 (talk)

2024-09-10T15:58:23Z

Undo revision 192068 by U181072191 (talk)

U181072191: /* Engine performance */

2024-09-10T13:26:33Z

‎Engine performance

U38088265: /* Suspended armament */

2024-09-05T06:22:52Z

‎Suspended armament

U136670024: /* Pros and cons */

2024-08-29T18:27:25Z

‎Pros and cons

U44629479: Edits

2024-08-23T16:10:07Z

Edits

U4350302: /* See also */ f-14 family link

2024-08-23T15:59:35Z

‎See also: f-14 family link

U44629479: Undo revision 186311 by U133709070 (talk)

2024-05-14T02:28:02Z

Undo revision 186311 by U133709070 (talk)

U133709070: /* History */

2024-05-14T01:50:11Z

‎History

U28580205 at 07:31, 6 April 2024

2024-04-06T07:31:41Z

U84733411: Updated parts of the page to reflect the current state of the game, grammatical / sentence structure changes in some areas (hopefully for the better)

2024-04-04T08:09:27Z

Updated parts of the page to reflect the current state of the game, grammatical / sentence structure changes in some areas (hopefully for the better)

Show changes

@@ Line 97: / Line 97: @@
 ! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Basic mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot and engine oil, but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="4" | Wing loading (full fuel)
 |-
-| colspan="2" | Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A ||3
+| colspan="2" | Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A || 2
 | colspan="3" | 18,545 kg || colspan="4" | 493 kg/m<sup>2</sup>
 |-

@@ Line 97: / Line 97: @@
 ! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Basic mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot and engine oil, but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="4" | Wing loading (full fuel)
 |-
-| colspan="2" | Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A || 2
+| colspan="2" | Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A ||3
 | colspan="3" | 18,545 kg || colspan="4" | 493 kg/m<sup>2</sup>
 |-

@@ Line 210: / Line 210: @@
 | || || 1 || || || 1 || ||
 |-
-| colspan="10" | * Use of dual Sparrow missiles on hardpoint 4 prevents use of the marked options on hardpoint 3 <br> <sup>†</sup> The AIM-54A Phoenix missiles on hardpoint 4 cannot be carried in conjunction with 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs on hardpoint 3
+| colspan="10" | * Use of dual Sparrow missiles on hardpoint 5 prevents use of the marked options on hardpoint 4 <br> <sup>†</sup> The AIM-54A Phoenix missiles on hardpoint 5 cannot be carried in conjunction with 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs on hardpoint 4
 |-
 |}

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 *** AI LO, AI HI, AAA/AI
 *** SAM LO, SAM MID, SAM HI
 '''Cons:'''
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 * The TF30 is one of, if not the hottest running engine in-game, requiring the need to throttle down (and massively lose speed and energy retention) to reliably flare off infrared missiles
 * 60 countermeasures may be a bit lacking considering the extremely high engine temperature
 * The AIM-54A's rocket motor burns for a very long time, giving enemies plenty of time to spot it early and evade
 * Requires lots of work and control binds related to the radar and variable wing sweep angle to make the most of the aircraft
@@ Line 403: / Line 401: @@
 ;Related development
 * [[F-14 (Family)]]
 ;Other jet planes with variable sweep wings
 * [[F-111A]]
 * [[Tornado (Family)]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{About
 | about = American jet fighter '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
-| usage = the other version
+| usage = other versions
-| link = F-14B
+| link = F-14 (Family)
 }}
 {{Specs-Card
@@ Line 400: / Line 400: @@
 <!-- ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
 * ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
-* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' -->'''Related development'''
+* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' -->
-;*[[F-14 (Family)]]
+;Related development
-;'''Other jet planes with variable sweep wings'''
+* [[F-14 (Family)]]
 * [[MiG-23 (Family)]]
 * [[Su-17/22 (Family)]]
 == External links ==

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 In 1967, the U.S. Navy wanted a long-range fleet defence fighter to boost their naval plane capabilities with the "VFX" program. The USN first started with a redesigned F-111 Aardvark named the F-111B (basically an F-111 designed around the TF30 engine and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles), they soon found out that the F-111 was too big for practical reasons so the F-111B plan never came to fruition. Fast forward to 1969, the USN gave the contract to Grumman to build the new fleet defence fighter named the F-14 Tomcat (Grumman Model G-303), its first variants were built around the TF30 engines found on the F-111B and to use the AN/AWG-9 radar set and the airframe was specifically built to carry the AIM-54 Phoenix missile.
 === Deployment ===
-In December 1970, a significant milestone in aviation history was achieved when the F-14 Tomcat, a supersonic twin-engine fleet defense fighter, made its maiden flight. This marked the beginning of a remarkable journey for the F-14 Tomcat, which would go on to become one of the most iconic fighter aircraft in the United States Navy. The successful  big ass dick
+In December 1970, a significant milestone in aviation history was achieved when the F-14 Tomcat, a supersonic twin-engine fleet defense fighter, made its maiden flight. This marked the beginning of a remarkable journey for the F-14 Tomcat, which would go on to become one of the most iconic fighter aircraft in the United States Navy. The successful maiden flight of the F-14 Tomcat in December 1970 paved the way for its subsequent development and delivery to the United States Navy. Just eighteen months later, in June 1972, the Navy received its first batch of F-14 aircraft, signaling the official introduction of this advanced fighter into service. However, it wasn't until 1974 that the culmination of tireless efforts and unwavering dedication became a reality. The Navy achieved operational deployment of the F-14 Tomcat, representing a major milestone for this cutting-edge aircraft. Two carrier squadrons played a pivotal role in this achievement: VF-1 "Wolfpack" and VFA-2 "Bounty Hunters"
 === In service ===
 The illustrious legacy of the F-14 Tomcat can be traced back to its inception during the Vietnam War. It was during this turbulent period that carrier squadrons of the United States Navy were deployed to help evacuate Saigon as part of Operation Frequent Wind. In the midst of this critical operation, the F-14 emerged as an awe-inspiring symbol of unmatched aerial power and groundbreaking technological innovation. The F-14 Tomcat, throughout its service life, consistently demonstrated its exceptional capabilities in diverse theaters of operation. From the skies over Vietnam to the Persian Gulf and beyond, the F-14 played a pivotal role in safeguarding American interests and ensuring the security of its allies. During conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm, the F-14 Tomcat showcased its remarkable versatility and combat effectiveness. With its state-of-the-art weapons systems and advanced avionics, the jet provided unparalleled air superiority and contributed significantly to the success of the coalition forces. Moreover, the F-14's impressive presence was felt during the Gulf of Sidra incidents, where it boldly defended American naval forces against hostile encounters. Its manoeuvrability, formidable arsenal, and avionics, served as a powerful deterrent, firmly establishing the F-14's reputation as a force to be reckoned with.

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 {{Specs-Avia-Armour}}
 <!-- ''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.'' -->
-The F-14A holds 60 countermeasures, which is a decent number of chaff and flares that can let the Tomcat survive multiple missiles. Due to its massive engines, the IR signature of the aircraft is not an easy thing to conceal when fighting heat-seeking missiles. As with other jets around its battle rating, flares alone are generally not enough to defeat IR-guided missiles. To defeat an IR-guided missile (heat-seeker), turn off afterburner and reduce throttle to at least 80-85% while dumping flares and turning away from the missile. This is to ensure that an IR-guided missile will track the flares and not the engines.  Due to the massive size compared to other aircraft, the chances of a successful hit from enemies, both missile and cannon, are higher compared to smaller aircraft such as the Harrier or F-5. This should be taken into consideration as proximity fuses will trigger with more ease as the wingspan of the Tomcat is considerably larger than most jets seen in game.
+The F-14A holds 60 countermeasures, which is a decent number of chaff and flares that can let the Tomcat survive multiple missiles. Due to its massive engines, the IR signature of the aircraft is not an easy thing to conceal when fighting heat-seeking missiles. As with other jets around its battle rating, flares alone are generally not enough to defeat IR-guided missiles. To defeat an IR-guided missile (heat-seeker), turn off afterburner and reduce throttle to at least 80-85% while dumping flares and turning away from the missile. This is to ensure that an IR-guided missile will track the flares and not the engines. Due to the massive size compared to other aircraft, the chances of a successful hit from enemies, both missile and cannon, are higher compared to smaller aircraft such as the Harrier or F-5. This should be taken into consideration as proximity fuses will trigger with more ease as the wingspan of the Tomcat is considerably larger than most jets seen in game.
 Fuel tanks are housed flatly in both the fuselage and wings. The F-14A will easily catch fire from enemy rounds from above and below the plane. Thankfully, the fuel tanks are well-separated compared to other fighters like the F-4 family, so damage to one part of the plane may not necessarily compromise the whole plane. However, fires will rapidly destroy traction of control surfaces, so they must be immediately extinguished. As long as some control surfaces are usable, the F-14A can survive critical damage (such as losing a wing) and return to base. Its multiple fuel tanks help isolate fuel fires especially on the wings, and the plane can fly on one engine.
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 The '''AIM-9H Sidewinder''' is very similar to the previous AIM-9G — having good range but below average manoeuvrability. Its seeker can also be slaved to a radar lock or TWS soft lock. With only 18G maximum overload, the AIM-9H should not be used in high-aspect or hard-turning shots at close ranges. Instead, the AIM-9H's good range should be used to catch enemies off guard. A good way to utilize this range is to position yourself over the battlefield and dive down on enemies. Your dive speed combined with gravity will increase the speed and range of your missiles, your angle to the enemy will give the missiles an easier time locking on to their exhaust, and your unexpected direction will see that many enemies will not notice the missile until they have been destroyed by it.
-The '''AIM-7F Sparrow''' is a medium-range, SARH (Semi-Active Radar Homing) missile. Pilots of the F-14A are probably familiar with the AIM-7F from the previous F-4J or the premium F-4S. The AIM-7F is one of the best radar-guided missiles in the game, with 25Gs of pull and a very long burn time for the  sustainer motor, it has long range and competitive manoeuvrability. (while earlier SARHs such as the AIM-7E-2(DF), Skyflash, R-23R, etc. will stop producing thrust sooner and lose speed during manoeuvres, the AIM-7F maintains its speed and thus manoeuvrability for longer thanks to its sustainer motor.) This should be the F-14A's go-to missile; it can be launched from all aspects and is difficult to dodge without the correct defensive manoeuvres. The AIM-7F can be launched from longer ranges to utilize its long burn time and the F-14A's good radar. Pay attention to your Radar Warning Receiver; if the enemy you are radar locking is also radar locking you, it is likely that they are about to or already have launched a radar-guided missile at you. In this case, do not fly straight; you are going to be hit first. Launch your missile, then crank to one side. To crank means to turn to one side as far as possible without losing radar lock. This makes the enemy's missile travel further at higher angles and thus decreases the chance it will hit you during defensive manoeuvres. If you have Sparrows to spare and an enemy is approaching head-on, you can launch Sparrows in succession (2-3 seconds between launches) to increase your probability of a kill. An enemy can avoid one missile with manoeuvres, but will have bled speed and will have a more difficult time avoiding further missiles.
+The '''AIM-7F Sparrow''' is a medium-range, SARH (Semi-Active Radar Homing) missile. Pilots of the F-14A are probably familiar with the AIM-7F from the previous F-4J or the premium F-4S. The AIM-7F is one of the best radar-guided missiles in the game, with 25Gs of pull and a very long burn time for the sustainer motor, it has long range and competitive manoeuvrability. (while earlier SARHs such as the AIM-7E-2(DF), Skyflash, R-23R, etc. will stop producing thrust sooner and lose speed during manoeuvres, the AIM-7F maintains its speed and thus manoeuvrability for longer thanks to its sustainer motor.) This should be the F-14A's go-to missile; it can be launched from all aspects and is difficult to dodge without the correct defensive manoeuvres. The AIM-7F can be launched from longer ranges to utilize its long burn time and the F-14A's good radar. Pay attention to your Radar Warning Receiver; if the enemy you are radar locking is also radar locking you, it is likely that they are about to or already have launched a radar-guided missile at you. In this case, do not fly straight; you are going to be hit first. Launch your missile, then crank to one side. To crank means to turn to one side as far as possible without losing radar lock. This makes the enemy's missile travel further at higher angles and thus decreases the chance it will hit you during defensive manoeuvres. If you have Sparrows to spare and an enemy is approaching head-on, you can launch Sparrows in succession (2-3 seconds between launches) to increase your probability of a kill. An enemy can avoid one missile with manoeuvres, but will have bled speed and will have a more difficult time avoiding further missiles.
 The '''AIM-54A Phoenix''' is a long-range, ARH (Active Radar Homing) missile, and is only found on the F-14. The AIM-54A is a unique missile with unique capabilities. It has an extremely long burn time and thus an extremely long range, as well as a rather large proximity fuse and a large amount of explosives (doesn't have to be as close as other missiles to enemies to explode and cause critical damage). However, its more interesting features come in the form of its behaviour. First, it's an active radar homing missile, meaning it has a small internal radar which at closer ranges it can use to automatically search for, track and guide itself to targets without any input from the parent (the F-14's) radar. Second, it can be guided via the parent (F-14's) radar, but if it loses lock, the missile will fly straight for a while and use the aforementioned internal radar to search for enemies to home in towards. Third, the AIM-54 does not require a hard lock to be launched; when the F-14's radar is in TWS (Track While Scan) mode, you can simply hover the radar cursor over a radar contact to launch the AIM-54. This also means you can launch more than one Phoenix at a time by hovering over a target, launching, and then hovering over another target to launch another Phoenix.
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 It should be noted that the F-14A burns through its fuel supply extremely fast when on full afterburner. This should be taken into consideration as one can use up all their fuel without realizing until it is too late. Due to this, it is advisable to take at the very least 30 minutes of fuel. You can use the mouse scroll wheel to save a lot more fuel by using the first-stage afterburner, which gives a significant power boost from 100% throttle but a little less power than full afterburner. On minimum fuel (18 minutes) the full afterburner can only last about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, but the afterburner (first-stage) can last you 8 minutes.
-Something to be aware of when playing the F-14A is the insane heat of its engines. At high throttle and afterburner, its engines emit an unparalleled amount of heat at around 2,100 °F (1,150 °C). For reference, that is around 66% hotter than the F-4J's engines, which are around 1,239 °F (671 °C) at 100% throttle and 1,256 °F (680 °C) during full afterburner. During gameplay, this means that in the F-14A simply just turning off the afterburner and deploying flares may not be enough to avoid an incoming IR missile. It is also recommended to throttle down the engine significantly (at least 80-85%) to make sure that an incoming IR missile goes for the flares. This is especially true for more flare-resistant IR missiles such as the [[AIM-9L Sidewinder|AIM-9L]] & [[AIM-9M Sidewinder|AIM-9M]], [[Matra R550 Magic 2|Magic 2]], and [[R-73]] which may need substantial throttling down to flare off. Keep in mind that throttling down means that you will lose a decent amount of speed in the process, so be prepared.
+Something to be aware of when playing the F-14A is the insane heat of its engines. At high throttle and afterburner, its engines emit an unparalleled amount of heat at around 2,100 °F (1,150 °C). For reference, that is around 66% hotter than the F-4J's engines, which are around 1,239 °F (671 °C) at 100% throttle and 1,256 °F (680 °C) during full afterburner. During gameplay, this means that in the F-14A simply just turning off the afterburner and deploying flares may not be enough to avoid an incoming IR missile. It is also recommended to throttle down the engine significantly (at least 80-85%) to make sure that an incoming IR missile goes for the flares. This is especially true for more flare-resistant IR missiles such as the [[AIM-9L Sidewinder|AIM-9L]] and [[AIM-9M Sidewinder|AIM-9M]], [[Matra R550 Magic 2|Magic 2]], and [[R-73]] which may need substantial throttling down to flare off. Keep in mind that throttling down means that you will lose a decent amount of speed in the process, so be prepared.
 '''Radar and Radar Modes'''
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 '''Enemies Worth Noting'''
-* '''F-16A:''' These planes have excellent acceleration and decent top speed. In addition, they are equipped with AIM-9Ls (& Python 3's for the Israeli Netz), which can be difficult to flare with the F-14's two very hot engines running on full afterburner, as well as AIM-7Ms (except the US F-16A Block 10 and Israeli Netz), that perform similarly to the F-14's AIM-7Fs. One weakness of the F-16 is its angle of attack limiter which effectively bricks the F-16 at high speeds. This means it will have trouble dodging the F-14's AIM-7Fs at higher speeds. In a dogfight, the F-16 outturns the F-14 with it's excellent maneuverability, but the angle of attack limiter can be exploited in a merge with an F-16, where air braking, down-throttling and pulling hard into the F-16 may let you park yourself on his tail. The F-16's excellent acceleration in contrast with the F-14's poor acceleration makes it ill-advised to engage in a vertical dogfight with the F-16. It is generally best to avoid dogfighting the F-16, but if needed, a rate fight is favoured by the F-14,
+* '''F-16A:''' These planes have excellent acceleration and decent top speed. In addition, they are equipped with AIM-9Ls (and Python 3's for the Israeli Netz), which can be difficult to flare with the F-14's two very hot engines running on full afterburner, as well as AIM-7Ms (except the US F-16A Block 10 and Israeli Netz), that perform similarly to the F-14's AIM-7Fs. One weakness of the F-16 is its angle of attack limiter which effectively bricks the F-16 at high speeds. This means it will have trouble dodging the F-14's AIM-7Fs at higher speeds. In a dogfight, the F-16 outturns the F-14 with it's excellent maneuverability, but the angle of attack limiter can be exploited in a merge with an F-16, where air braking, down-throttling and pulling hard into the F-16 may let you park yourself on his tail. The F-16's excellent acceleration in contrast with the F-14's poor acceleration makes it ill-advised to engage in a vertical dogfight with the F-16. It is generally best to avoid dogfighting the F-16, but if needed, a rate fight is favoured by the F-14,
 * '''MiG-29''': The MiG-29 has excellent acceleration and top speed. Though the R-60M on the [[MiG-29|9.13]] is a far cry from the F-16's AIM-9Ls, future variants carry the supermanouevring, IRCCM equipped [[R-73]], and all MiG-29s posses the extremely dangerous R-27ER long range SARH missile. These missiles are faster accelerating and more manoeuvrable than the F-14's AIM-7Fs while having the same listed maximum range of 100 km. However, the MiG-29 can only carry two of them. They can be outranged by your AIM-54s, but at closer ranges, even a single missile can mean death for you, so you will have to use missile jousting strategies to beat the R-27ER with your AIM-7Fs. In a dogfight, it's mostly the same story as with the F-16: the MiG-29 has excellent maneuverability, and while the F-14 can certainly keep up, vertical dogfights should be avoided due to the stark difference in acceleration between the MiG-29 and F-14A. The best way to dogfight the MiG-29 in the F-14 is to utilize the F-14's excellent turn rate in a rate fight; staying at around 750 km/h will let the F-14 slowly out-rate the MiG-29.
 * '''Mirage 2000C:''' Mirage 2000s have excellent acceleration and top speed, as well as powerful missiles. Like AIM-9Ls, the Magic 2 can be difficult to flare, and the Super 530D is comparable to the AIM-7F, but it should be noted that the Mirage 2000C only has two of each of these missiles. In a dogfight, the Mirage 2000 has excellent instantaneous turn rate, but due to its delta wing design bleeds speed quickly; in this case the F-14A's excellent rate speed should be used to drain the Mirage 2000 of energy and outrate it.