![]() The US military is even hesitant to sell partial F-14s to private individuals, and even museums. Sadly, even if you are a former US Navy F-14 pilot, you cannot purchase a fully working F-14. Today, that $19.2 million is worth a little over $81 million, however, this was for the first generation of F-14s. In 1977, Grumman listed the price of an F-14 Tomcat as $19.2 million. So, which aircraft is cheaper in the long run? F-14 However, price is always a factor for militaries and civilian owners. M-61A1 cannon 4x AIM-9 Sidewinder 4x AIM-120 AMRAAMs 8x AIM-120 AMRAAMīoth the F-14 and F-15 are multimillion dollar pieces of military equipment. The most common variant of the F-15 is the F-15C, currently in service with the USAF, among others. The most common variant of the F-14 is the F-14D, recently withdrawn from US Navy service. As such, both Grumman and McDonnell Douglas designed several variants of the F-14 and F-15 respectively. F-14 vs F-15: Specs Photo courtesy of Airwolfhound via Flickr.īoth the F-14 and F-15 were incredibly successful for their respective branches. Soon enough, the USAF had chosen the XF-15 to be the F-15, with its first flight being on July 27 1972, and entering service on January 9 1976. However, the design from McDonnell Douglas was particularly interesting. As such, within only a few weeks, many of these aircraft had been rejected outright. Both the US Navy and USAF had differing objectives, so both sent out differing specifications.įor the most part, most aircraft manufacturers sent a standard design to the Air Force and then a naval variant to the Navy. This worried the USAF and US Navy, demanding new aircraft be produced that were superior to their Soviet counterparts. However, in 1967, the Soviets revealed their MiG-25, a jet that was more advanced than anything the US or NATO forces had seen before. On paper, this seemed like a good idea, and indeed, it is. This meant letting the Soviets release their new fighter before the Americans did. They realized that they had to focus on making better aircraft than the Soviets could. This design, eventually called the F-14 Tomcat, first flew on December 21 1970, before entering service with the US Navy on September 22 1974. As such, the companies went their own way, designing their own individual aircraft to serve this purpose.Įventually, the US Navy accepted Grumman’s all new design. However, the Navy found this aircraft to be insufficient for their needs. Grumman partnered with General Dynamics to design an aircraft that resembled the recently introduced F-111 Aardvark in service with the US Air Force. The Soviets deliberately designed the missiles so that they could be shot from outside the combat range of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, then in use with the US Navy.Īs such, the Navy needed a new aircraft. Many of the aerial and naval tactics that had been incredibly successful then, led to thousands of causalities now, on both sides.ĭuring the beginning of Vietnam, the Soviets had begun arming their Tu-95 bombers with long-range anti-ship missiles, which threatened American carrier groups. In the late 1950’s, warfare had changed a lot since the days of WWII. F-14 vs F-15: The Basicsīefore we can compare the F-14 and F-15, we must first know some background about them! F-14 ![]() Some of these fighters serve a few of these roles, whilst others serve them all. ![]() Today, most fighter jets also fill roles as interceptors, light bombers, ground attack aircraft, fighter-bombers and night fighters. American fighters couldn’t shoot at Soviet fighters without causing an international incident, so they had other roles… However, with the onset of the Cold War, the role of fighter jet became somewhat obsolete. Eventually, fighter jets replaced these piston fighters. Originally, the term “fighter jet” was used during WWI and later during WWII to describe an aircraft with the sole purpose of intercepting and fighting enemy aircraft.Īircraft like the P-51 Mustang and Spitfire are some of the most famous fighter jets in the original sense of the work… except they were piston aircraft. ![]() Movies like Top Gun have seen the term used widely in popular media, both in non-aviation related movies, news reports and TV shows. The term “fighter jet” might seem quite straightforward. So which is truly the superior aircraft? F-14 vs F-15: What is a Fighter Jet? Since then, avgeeks, generals and the public alike have wondered which is better.Īlthough the F-14 was recently withdrawn from US Navy service, where it had served for almost 30 years, both the F-14 and F-15 were their service’s premier fighter jet in their day. However, two different services chose two different aircraft to enter service with them. Both the F-14 and F-15 have their origins in the same program.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |