F-14A IRIAF (USA)
| This page is about the event gift fighter F-14A IRIAF (USA). For other versions, see F-14 (Family). |
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Contents
Description
Although deemed as one of the most unique aircraft of US Naval Air Force, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat has been the icon of USN since its introduction in 1970 as the fleet air-defense aircraft for carrier battle groups (CVBGs); but US Navy wasn't the only user of Tomcat. Even though efforts has been made to sell Tomcat to US-allied countries, only Imperial Iran, then a close ally under the Pahlavi dynasty, sought for a new interceptor to defend against the menacing, Mach 2.7-capable MiG-25R recon aircraft from neighboring Soviet Union. As soon as January 1974, after the demonstration flights in previous years in US alongside with F-15A, IIAF placed the order of 80 Tomcats and 10-years worth of spare parts for the Pahlavi by mid-1970s.
By the time that the 1979 Islamic Revolution which overthrown the 2,500-year-old monarchy of Iran and replacing it with the Islamic Republic, there were 79 F-14As delivered to IIAF before the new IRIAF took over them. During the Iraq-Iran War, the Iranian Tomcats performed outstandingly against the Ba'athist Iraq forces, with some Tomcats were lost over Iraqi aircrafts. However, due to sanction placed on the now anti-US and Islamic Republic, the IRIAF often has to improvise their existing weaponry to be outfitted on their aircraft, this including modified the MIM-23 Hawk SAM to be used as a substitute for the dwindling supply of AIM-54A Phoenix missile, and even created the "Yasser", a massive rocket created by strapping the M117 bomb warhead to the spare rocket parts of the MIM-23 Hawk SAM to supplement the lack of guided munitions.
With the eventual destruction of all remaining Tomcats stored in continental US after the Gulf War in view of possible smuggling of spare parts to Iran, this ameans that the IRIAF have to keep the jet operational by cannibalizing other remaining Tomcats. These F-14As also received some upgrades in terms of firepower with domestic modified and sometimes Russian weaponry to keep them up-to-date. 50 years since first delivered, the Iranian Tomcats is still in active service today under the designation "F-14AM" to denote various modernization efforts to keep the aging fighter up-to-date.
The ▄F-14A Tomcat (Early) IRIAF , introduced during Update "Seek & Destroy" as a reward for the 2024 Persian Tomcat event represents the F-14As operated by IRIAF as-of-present with domestic modifications done to enhance its combat capabilities. Although having a deemed obsolete airframe and radar system for its BR, the domestic missiles from Iran or the addition of R-27R1 will make sure the jet is still capable to defend the skies.
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at 12,192 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 2,202 | 2,191 | 16764 | 24.9 | 25.3 | 178.4 | 170.5 | 750 |
| Upgraded | ___ | ___ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Limits | Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | |||
| Min sweep | 1,021 | 518 | 1,200 | 873 | 416 | ~10 | ~5 |
| Max sweep | 1,555 | ~11 | ~5 | ||||
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 1,200 | < 850 | < 1,555 | - |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | ||||||
| Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A | 2 | 18,545 kg | 493 kg/m2 | ||||||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Gross Weight | |||||||
| Weight (each) | Type | 18m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 45m fuel | 62m fuel | |||
| 1,802 kg | Afterburning low-bypass turbofan | 20,750 kg | 20,904 kg | 22,084 kg | 23,854 kg | 25,894 kg | __,___ kg | ||
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP) | ||||||||
| Condition | 100% | WEP | 18m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 45m fuel | 62m fuel | MGW | |
| Stationary | 4,860 kgf | 8,019 kgf | 0.77 | 0.77 | 0.73 | 0.67 | 0.63 | _.__ | |
| Optimal | 5,808 kgf (1,555 km/h) |
12,389 kgf (1,200 km/h) |
1.19 | 1.19 | 1.12 | 1.04 | 0.97 | _.__ | |
Survivability and armour
The F-14A (IRIAF} is a frail aircraft at best. Like most jets, it will struggle at tanking hits from modern weaponry. Its large size also doesn't help as having a larger cross section makes one much more vulnerable to radar and much easier to hit. Most of its fuel tanks are not self-sealing, with only the center tank being self-sealing. It is also very susceptible to IR missiles, largely due to its two Pratt & Whitney engines running extremely hot. Its low countermeasure count of only 60 and early RWR can handicap one from countering missiles fired at closer ranges. It is a maneuverable plane though, and with enough skill, a plot can not allow enemies to get guns or missiles on them.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) | CCRP (Bombs) | EEGS |
 |
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Offensive armament
The F-14A IRIAF (USA) is armed with:
- 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon, cheek-mounted (676 rpg)
- 60 x countermeasures
Suspended armament
The F-14A IRIAF (USA) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
| Default weapon presets | |
|---|---|
| |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Handles like an early F-14. Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".
Pros:
- Excellent maneuverability in medium to high speed range
- Engines pack a lot of thurst
- Decent energy retention
- Sturdy airframe, can take some damage to the fuselage
- Variable sweep wings and automatic slats
- The M61 Vulcan cannon has an extremely fast fire rate, good velocity, and deals great damage
- Wide variety of weapons choice, both air to air and air to ground
- Can carry 8 missles. Has access to:
- Long range radar with TWS HDN which allows to launch without hard lock. 6 channel datalink, enables to fire all Phoenix one by one at different targets
- RWR detects a wide variety of targets:
- AI LO, AI HI, AAA/AI
- SAM LO, SAM MID, SAM HI
Cons:
- Heavy
- Large target, massive wing and fuselage fuel tanks
- Afterburner gulps fuel like crazy
- No drop tank, all the fuel is carried internally hampering performance in dogfight
- Engines run hot, over 1100 degress. Even on idle they run at 700+ degress
- Low countermeasure count considering the hot engines
- Can rip it's wings in sustained high G turns
- RWR is subpar at 12.3
- AIM-54A's and Fakours are easy to dodge
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
- Videos
See also
- Related development
External links
- [Devblog] Persian Tomcat: F-14A IRIAF
- [Event] Get the Iranian F-14A IRIAF in the ‘Persian Tomcat’ event
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