Supersonic, iconic: The Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the famous ‘Top Gun’ aircraft from the Iraq War

If you’re asked to picture a fighter jet, the images conjured in most people’s minds will look very similar to the iconic Grumman F-14 Tomcat, a formidable combat aircraft and star of the ‘Top Gun’ films.

The twin-engine, supersonic all-weather aircraft was first flown in December 1970 and was introduced into US military service in 1974. After that, it served as the US Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter for more than three decades, until its eventual retirement in 2006.

Development of the F-14 Tomcat began in the 1950s, when the US Navy was looking for a durable interceptor capable of travelling long distances to defend carrier battle ships. The Douglas F6D Missileer looked like an option at one point, but it was sub-supersonic and lacked the performance needed to perform as a fighter-bomber.

Development continued and the Grumman 303 was offered to the Navy in 1967. Engineers continues work over the following years until the Grumman 303E was selected for the contract in January 1969, which would come to be known the F-14.

The legendary F-14 Tomcat

The most famous (real-world) usage of the F-14 Tomcat came during the First Iraq War, participating in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The aircraft formed a key part of Combat Air Patrol (CAP) over the Persian Guld and the Red Sea, along with various strike escort and reconnaissance missions.

The final US combat mission involving an F-14 was completed in February 2006 with two Tomcats landing on the USS Theodore Roosevelt after dropping a bomb on Iraq. The flight retirement ceremony was conducted on 22 September 2006 at Naval Air Station Oceana, while the final flight of an F-14 in US service took place the following month.

The F-14 is now be consigned to 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group “Boneyard”, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. However the cinematic exploits of the F-14 in ’Top Gun’ remain wildly popular and have ensured that the legacy will far outlive its active service.

The US Navy was paid $886,000 in the early 1980s to allow use of the aircraft, a central part of the movie. The F-14 was then reused in 2022 for ’Top Gun: Maverick’, further cementing its place in Hollywood folklore.

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