Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jun 05, 2025

The F-14 Tomcat first flew 52 years ago. Here's why the US destroyed them rather than let anyone else buy them.

The F-14 Tomcat first flew 52 years ago. Here's why the US destroyed them rather than let anyone else buy them.

Like many of the United States' foreign-policy decisions over the past 20 years, this one was about Iran.

There was only one foreign customer for the advanced F-14 Tomcat fighter during its heyday: Iran.

The Shah chose to buy 80 Tomcats instead of the F-15 Eagle — and it was a good investment. Even after Imperial Iran gave way to the Islamic Republic of Iran after the 1979 revolution, the Iranian Air Force was still stacked with some of the best Tomcat pilots in the world.

And the US doesn't want any of them in the air ever again.

Iran is the US's ex-girlfriend who we just can't stop thinking about. After the Islamic Revolution, the US could just not leave Iran alone. A major US sticking point was that our ex still had 30 of our best fighter aircraft — and was using them to great effect against our new boo, Iraq, in the Iran-Iraq War.


An F-14D Tomcat over the Persian Gulf in November 2005.

The Iranian air force was so skilled in the Iran-Iraq War that a lone Tomcat could clear the skies of enemy aircraft without firing a shot. Many of the successful downings of Tomcats were at the hands of ground-based SAM batteries ... Iranian SAM batteries.

But the US eventually gets better stuff, no matter how iconic "Top Gun" is. Since the Tomcat, we've had the major advances in fighter technology that led us to develop the F-22 and F-35 fighters, technology so amazing it might seem like magic to some.

So it made sense to retire our fleet of F-14s in 2007, given that we had an air-superiority fighter that had the radar cross-section of a bumblebee and could take out enemy planes before it could physically see them. When Iran got wind of the Tomcat's retirement, you could practically hear the CEO of Northrop Grumman's tummy growling at the idea of parts sales.

But nope. This was 2007, and Iran was still firmly placed in President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil," along with North Korea. The idea of selling Iran rare F-14 parts so it didn't have to cannibalize its own F-14 inventory was preposterous. It was this concern that led the Pentagon to shred every leftover F-14 Tomcat.
A US Navy F-14D Tomcat over Afghanistan, in November 2001.


Did the US have to take a $38 million plane and reduce it to scrap metal just so Iran couldn't repair its aging fleet? No, according to many national security experts, it did not.

They said the move was more symbolic than practical. F-14 parts were considered sensitive equipment just for this reason, so the US ended all parts sales to anyone, not just Iran, for fear that Iran might get them eventually. But that doesn't matter; there isn't much Iran could do with its F-14s if they were airworthy.

"Those planes as they age are maybe the equivalent of Chevrolets in Cuba. They become relics of a past era," said Larry C. Johnson, a former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the State Department in President George H.W. Bush's administration. "Even if they can put them in the air, they are going to face more advanced weapons systems."

The decision to destroy all the surplus Tomcats was the defense equivalent of taking the house and the car despite not needing or wanting either — a purely spiteful move that makes Tomcat fans wish they would have just donated to museums.
Read the original article on We Are The Mighty. Copyright 2022. Follow We Are The Mighty on Twitter.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Global News Roundup: From Ukraine's strategic military strikes and Russia's demands and Tensions Escalate in Ukraine, to serious legal issues faced by Britons in Bali and Trump's media criticism, the latest developments highlight a turbulent landscape
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
Hungary Partners with China to Boost Electric Vehicle Production
‘Vibe Coding’ Emerges as the New DIY Trend
AI Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Warns Models Can Deceive Users
Big Four Firms Rush to Create AI Auditing Systems
Musk’s xAI Pursues $113 Billion Valuation in New Share Sale
Walmart Increases Revenue Despite Shrinking Workforce
Hims & Hers Plans UK and EU Launch of Replica Obesity Drugs
Toyota to Acquire Supplier in $33 Billion Buyout
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
×