F-14A TOMCAT “IRIAF”

The F-14 Tomcat is a two-seat, twin-engine, variable-sweep wing, supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber aircraft that was originally developed for the United States Navy by Grumman. The Iran Air Force operated the F-14 Tomcat from the 1970s until the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The Iran Air Force received its first F-14 Tomcats in the early 1970s as part of a military assistance program from the United States. The F-14s were considered to be among the most advanced aircraft in the Iran Air Force at the time and were used extensively for air defense and ground attack missions. The F-14s were equipped with the latest avionics, radar and weapons systems, including the AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile, which had a range of over 100 miles.

The F-14s played a significant role in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, where they were used to defend against the Iraqi Air Force’s bombing campaigns and to attack ground targets. However, due to the lack of spare parts and support from the United States, the F-14s were gradually phased out of service after the revolution.

After the revolution, the US embargo on spare parts and support to the Iranian military, the Iran Air Force struggled to maintain the F-14s and many of the aircraft were grounded. The remaining F-14s were used for reconnaissance and ground attack missions until the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988. The Iran Air Force has since retired its remaining F-14 Tomcats and currently operates a fleet of more modern aircraft.