The American media claims that Iran’s F14 fighters have been updated

According to some American media, Iran has updated its F-14 Tomcat fighters. Is this claim true or not?

Introduced more than 50 years ago, the F-14 Tomcat was once the pinnacle of US Navy aviation technology. While the US Navy retired the jet in favor of newer models such as the F/A-18 Hornet, Iran is the only country that continues to use the F-14. Now, after many years, according to the claim of “Interest” magazine, this country has been able to update Iran’s F14 fighters with indigenous knowledge and engineering.

Is the update of Iran’s F14 fighters real?

After World War II, the US military sought a long-range, high-endurance fighter to better protect its carrier strike groups at sea. As tensions rose during the Cold War, the Navy specifically needed aircraft capable of countering their Soviet counterparts. In the following years, the F-4 Phantom II and the Douglas F6D Missileer were introduced, but neither met the Navy’s needs.

At this time, then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara launched the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) program, which aimed to create a joint force for the Navy and Air Force. Ultimately, Northrop Grumman and McDonnell Douglas were selected as finalists, and Grumman was awarded the contract in 1969.

Grumman’s initial designs included TF30 engines designed to power the F-111B. However, the Navy always intended to replace these engines with the new Pratt & Whitney F401-400 engines. The jet’s distinctive curved wings allow it to fly at Mach-2.4 (twice the speed of sound) while maintaining control at the low speeds necessary to land on carriers.

In terms of weapons, the F-14 can be well armed. The fighter is equipped with a 20 mm General Electric Vulcan M61A-1 gun with 675 rounds, which is why the Tomcat was known as the best fighter in aerial combat for years. The fighter also has eight weapon bays, which include AIM-9, AIM-54 and AIM-7 air-to-air missiles. In addition, this jet can also carry air-to-ground weapons such as CBU cluster bombs and Rockeye bombs.

How did Iran get into this story?

The outstanding features of the F-14 were seen globally in the 1970s. As tensions rose between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Nixon administration sought allies from the region. The US president at the time even went to see Mohammad Reza Shah to arrange a deal that would give Iran 79 operational Tomcat fighters.

Analysts believe that the F-14, equivalent to what the F-22 is today, was truly a unique fighter. It made sense for Imperial Iran to purchase Tomcats, as these jets could act as a strong counter to the Soviet MiG-25R. Notably, this $2 billion contract became the largest foreign military sale in US history.

Although the agreement to deliver these F-14s to Iran seemed good at the time, the Islamic Revolution in 1979 caused the White House to regret this decision. The monarchy was suddenly destroyed in Iran and clerics took control of the country with a non-aggressive point of view.

In the following decades, Iran used Tomcats extensively in combat. According to Popular Mechanics, during 34 years of service, from 1972 to 2006, American F-14 pilots shot down five enemy aircraft. At the same time, several Iranian pilots have achieved many individual downs. Authors Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop estimated that during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, Iranian F-14 fighter pilots recorded 159 kills, while under heavy sanctions Iran was fighting with only a few dozen aircraft.

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