Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Adding ground attack capability

In the 1990s, with the pending retirement of the A-6 Intruder, the F-14 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] program was resurrected.

The first experiments with bombs were carried out in the late 1980s.

However, the main task of the F-14 was air defense in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], so most air-to-ground missions were left to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] squadrons.

The F-14 was cleared operationally to drop basic iron bombs in 1992.

To provide for use of precision munitions, the remaining F-14As and F-14Bs underwent an upgrade program.

The upgrade included new digital avionics systems, improved cockpit displays, structural improvements and improved defensive systems.

The upgraded fighters had avionics approximately comparable to the F-14Ds and were designated F-14A (Upgrade) and F-14B (Upgrade), respectively.

By 1994 Grumman and the Navy were proposing ambitious plans for Tomcat upgrades to plug that gap between the retirement of the A-6 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet entering service.

However, the upgrades would have taken too long to implement to meet the gap, and were priced in the billions; Congress considered this too expensive for an interim solution. A quicker and inexpensive upgrade was devised instead using the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) targeting pod system.

The LANTIRN pod was fitted to provide the F-14 with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera for night operations and a
laser target designator to direct laser guided bombs (LGB).[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Although LANTIRN is traditionally a two-pod system, with an AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod with terrain-following radar and a wide-angle FLIR, along with an AN/AAQ-14 targeting pod with a steerable FLIR and a laser target designator, the decision was made to only use the targeting pod.

The Tomcat's LANTIRN targeting pod featured some improvements over its baseline configuration, most significantly a Global Positioning System / Inertial Navigation System (GPS-INS) capability that allowed a Tomcat to find its own location at any time.

The pod was carried on the right wing glove pylon.

Fit of the LANTIRN pod did not require any updates to the F-14's own system software, which would have substantially increased the time and expense of the upgrade.

Although the LANTIRN Pod is designed to operate on a MIL-STD-1553B bus, which was not present on the F-14A or B
variants, Martin Marietta designed an interface card that fit into the LANTIRN controller box that allowed carriage by all Tomcat models.

The RIO received pod imagery on a 10" Programmable Tactical Information Display (PTID) or another Multi-Function Display in the F-14D, and guided LGBs using a new hand controller.

Initially the hand controller replaced the RIO's TARPS control panel, meaning a Tomcat configured for LANTIRN couldn't carry TARPS and the reverse, but eventually a workaround was developed that allowed a Tomcat to carry LANTIRN or TARPS as needed.
An upgraded LANTIRN named "LANTIRN 40K" with 40K laser allowing improved operation up to 40,000 ft (12,000 m) was introduced into service in 2001 followed by Tomcat Tactical Targeting (T3) and Fast Tactical Imagery (FTI) upgrades provided precise target coordinate determination and ability to transmit images from the LANTIRN pod.

" bulbe " FTI

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Tomcats also added the ability to carry the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) in 2003, giving it the option of a variety of LGB and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-guided weapons.

^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} Some F-14Ds were upgraded in 2005 with a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Full Motion Video (FMV) downlink, a system that transmits real-time images from the aircraft's sensors to the laptop of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (FAC) on the ground.[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

F-14 D

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1.	Head-Up Display	15.	Multi-Function Display	29.	Clock
2.	Approach Indexer	16.	UHF Remote Indicator	30.	Brake Pressure Indicator
3.	ECM Warning Light & Standby Compass	17.	Canopy Jettison Handle	31.	Heading/CRS Panel
4.	Angle-of-Attack Indicator	18.	Emergency Stores Jettison Button	32.	Pedal Adjust Handle
5.	Air Combat Maneuver Panel	19.	Wheels-Flaps Position Indicator	33.	Brake Pressure Indicator
6.	Air Combat Maneuver Panel	20.	Landing Gear Control Panel	34.	Control Stick
7.	Wing Sweep Indicator	21.	Control Surface Position Indicator	35.	Fuel Quantity Indicator
8.	Vertical Velocity Indicator	22.	Fuel Management Panel	36.	Liquid Oxygen Quantity Indicator
9.	Servopneumatic Altimeter	23.	Engine Parameter Indicators	37.	Cabin Pressure Altimeter
10.	Radar Altimeter	24.	Hydraulic Pressure Indicator	38.	Arresting Hook Panel
11.	Airspeed Mach Indicator	25.	Electrical Tachometer Indicator (RPM)	39.	Display Control Panel
12.	Standby Attitude Indicator	26.	Thermocouple Temperature Indicator (TIT)	40.	Elevator Lead Panel
13.	Bearing Distance Heading Indicator	27.	Rate of Flow Indicator (FF)	41.	Left Engine Fuel Shut Off Handle
14.	Multi-Function Display	28.	Armament Control Indicator	42.	Right Engine Fuel Shut Off Handle

HUD

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F-14 D RIO cockpit

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1.	Digital Display Control Panel	9.	Navigation Control & Data Readout	17.	UHF Comm Select Panel
2.	Multi-Function Display	10.	Tactical Information Display	18.	Armament Panel
3.	Vertical Velocity Indicator	11.	Tactical Information Control Panel	19.	Data Storage Kit
4.	Standby Attitude Indicator	12.	Hand Control Unit	20.	Caution-Advisory Panel
5.	Fuel Quantity Indicator	13.	Multi-Function Display	21.	Navigation Mode & System Reset Panel
6.	Servopneumatic Altimeter	14.	Canopy Jettison Handle	22.	Navigation Control Panel
7.	Standby Attitude Indicator	15.	ECM Override Control	23.	ICS Foot Button
8.	Clock	16.	Bearing Distance Heading Indicator	24.	MIC Foot Button

Design

Overview

The F-14 Tomcat was designed as both an air superiority fighter and a long-range naval interceptor.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
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The F-14 has a two-seat cockpit with a canopy that affords all-round visibility.

It features variable geometry wings that swing automatically during flight.

For high-speed intercept, they are swept back and they swing forward for lower speed flight.

It was designed to improve on the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s air combat performance in most respects.

The F-14's fuselage and wings allow it to climb faster than the F-4, while the twin-tail arrangement offers better stability.

The F-14 is equipped with an internal 20 mm [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-type gun mounted on the left side, and can carry [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] anti-aircraft missiles.

Fuselage and wings

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] consists of a large flat area called the "pancake" between the engine nacelles and, by itself, provides more than half of the F-14's aerodynamic lifting surface.
Fuel, electronics, flight controls, and the wing-sweep mechanism are all housed in the fuselage "pancake".

The wings pivot from two extensions on either side of the "pancake", called wing gloves.

The twin engines are housed in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] below and slightly to the rear, with the fuselage smoothly blending
into the shape of the exhaust nozzles.

The nacelles are spaced apart 1 to 3 ft (0.30 to 0.91 m).

This produces a wide tunnel between the nacelles which causes some drag, but adds considerable lift and pitching
ability.

The resultant tunnel provides space to carry Phoenix or Sparrow missiles, assorted bombs, or the TARPS reconnaissance pod, and increases fuel capacity and room for equipment.

The F-14's wing sweep can be varied between 20° and 68° in flight,^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} and can be automatically controlled by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] when the pilot selects "auto" wingsweep mode.

This maintains the wing sweep to give the optimum [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] as the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] varies, but the system can be manually overridden by the pilot if necessary.

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When the aircraft is parked, the wings can be "overswept" to 75°, where they overlap the horizontal stabilizers to save space on crowded carrier decks.

In an emergency, the F-14 can land with the wings fully swept to 68°, although this is far from optimum and presents a significant safety hazard due to significantly increased airspeed.

An aircraft is typically diverted from the aircraft carrier to a landing field ashore in the rare event that would occur.

The F-14 has also flown and landed safely with the wings swept asymmetrically even from an aircraft carrier in
emergencies.[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Quelques détails visuels, y compris d'airframe, classés :

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