F-14 The Last Analogue Fighter - The Deadly Tomcat

The F-14 was the last analogue fighter designed just before the advent of modern digital electronics and yet it went on to be one of the US Navy's most respected and feared fighters when paired with the AIM-54 Pheonix missile it was a deadly combination. This is the story of how it dominated the air and why all the spare aircraft ended up being shredded into pieces.

Written researched and presented by Paul Shillito
Images and footage : US Navy, USAF, US DoD, Grumman, Huges Aircraft Corp, Dash99er

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[MrSomethingdark]

The last analog but also the first digital

[envitech]

The low kill number is testimony to the Tomcat's main mission of deterrence. It was so good that it was never used. One of my favourite fighter aircraft.

[jediguy]

Watching those F-14's at the end get shredded hurts my soul.

[dmac]

I wouldn't say the Tomcat is completely analog. It has a flight control computer with what has been described as the world's first microprocessor. The computer constantly adjusted the wing sweep based on the aerodynamics experienced by the aircraft at all times.
As for the compressor stalls, what made them particularly problematic was the position of the engines. They were set wide apart from each other. It one engine stalled, that introduces a considerable asymmetric force on the aircraft that would cause the aircraft to yaw a lot. If the aircraft was at a high AoA and low speeds, that could result in the aircraft going into a flat spin (like Top Gun). This happened in the case of Navy pilot Kara Hultgreen when she tried to over correct for a bad approach with too much rudder which induced a compressor stall. The aircraft rolled over and went into the drink.

[rogerw]

It's hard to rack up "kills" when no one is willing to challenge you.

[Max-xlqv]

The F-14 was NOT analogue, in fact the first CPU in the world was Garett AiResearch MP944 (not Intel) and it was designed specifically for this plane's flight control system. The CPU was top secret for several decades, declassified in 90's.
Just Google "F-14 Central Air Data Computer".

[andersjjensen]

The F-22 Raptor is the spiritual successor of the F-14 Tomcat. Nobody want's to pick a fight with it, so it doesn't have an impressive kill list. And honestly, a weapon system that is so effective that it prevents conflict, is as good as it gets.

[Dyson_Cyberdynesystems]

Leaving out so many details. Let’s start with the engines. The TF-30s were used because Grumman had a development plan. The A Variants would test the airframe with known Engines and Avionics. B would introduce new engines. The C Model would bring in new avionics. Only a small number of A and Bs were supposed to be produced culminating in the C as being the Final Product. The Navy and their funding screwed that up (Ref F-14 Design Evolution Video with Mike Ciminera – NG VP). Btw, if you want to really compare notes on fighters from the 70's you should compare A models. The F-15A is about as analog as and F-14A.
The AWG-9 was state of the art. It had Track While Scan. So, you could engage a fighter while also keeping track of other targets. Everything before that, once you locked a target you had Zero SA of anything else. Having the Tactical Information Display (using digital processors) was a game changer. Combined with the E-2, Grumman introduced Datalink which fundamentally changed US tactics. Now it wasn’t just you with a flashlight and a ground controller talking you on. Now you would be fed target data from the AWACS and your wingmen to your display.
The Phoenix was the US’ ONLY Active Radar Guided Missile for TWO DECADES. AMRAAMs didn’t show up till 1991. In other words, Eagles and Hornets had to Single Target Track a target to launch a Sparrow and only up to 15nm effectively. Falcons only had short range Sidewinders.
Additionally Tomcat was Multirole with Air to Ground interdiction capability from the start based the design and according documents from 1971. The Navy didn’t want to use it in that role because they had many other Strike Aircraft. They didn’t deem it worth the risk. The T-Pod just gave it precision strike capability and in Kosovo and Afghanistan, the Long Range Self Escort Role became much more useful, as well as providing Airborne Forward Air Control roles not to mention its recognizance pod. If you are really interested go watch the PenisulaSRSVideos and the Fighter Pilot Podcast Tomcast series.

[Cyman]

The F-14 “Tomcat” is still one of my favorite fighter jets ever built. It looks so badass!

[perniciouspete]

Of all the planes I've never flown, this was certainly one of them.

[richardconway]

So very interesting! Thank you for that Paul.

The F-14 is such an interesting piece of engineering, and I've always found it fascinating. It seemed so modern, and the answer to all questions that could be asked. It was the aircraft that could do everything - including taking off and landing on a carrier - no mean feat, when you consider its size and weight. It was a big aircraft ... and it still looked so good.

What a legend of aviation !! 🚀🚀

[sambagogo]

The fighter plane immortalised by the Top Gun movie and the After Burner arcade coin-op from SEGA.

[ravichjakkaratropart]

The F-14 Tomcat is a flying Porsche Carrera GT. They were considered to be the last "analogue" machince of their type. They were both on the cutting edge of performance at their time. They're both an unforgiving beast that will bite back if their driver/pilot didn't know what they were doing. And both are mesmerizingly beautiful.

[exsappermadman]

"Does that museum piece even work anymore?"....

[emefff]

It wasn't just 'ordinary' titanium lines and connectors that were used for the hydraulic system of F-14. To my knowledge, it was the first practical use of the very new NiTi shape memory alloys (nitinol) for the connectors that were just invented one year or so before.

[MSimpy-jsdb]

Thank you Paul for another great video, and explaining how the Tomcat traversed the late analog / early digital era. All us viewers appreciate the amount of work and research you out into your channel for our education and enjoyment!

[benyomovod]

The F14 and the Concorde were the most elegant airplanes

[reggieziet]

One of my favorite fighterjets on one of my favorite youtube channels! Great work

[blankseventydrei]

i love the f14, it is menacing with it's wings swept in and going in for the kill, and graceful when the wings swept out and gliding through the air.

[jackmunday]

That’s actually kind of spooky. I’m currently building Tamiya’s 1/48 F-14A tomcat right now. And this video pops up on my notifications.