Selling a Lethal Aircraft Fighter to the Enemy?

No video

Selling a Lethal Aircraft Fighter to the Enemy?

Рет қаралды 273,253

Жыл бұрын

Amid rising tensions and political turmoil, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat emerged just in time to prevent Soviet fighters from outclassing US seaborne warplanes that were struggling to keep up with the MiG fighters that were being produced at impressive rates.
With its supersonic speeds, sleek profile, and innovative variable-geometry wings, the mighty Tomcat came to shake the world of combat aviation to its core, stop the Soviet aims at air superiority, and bring a blanket of protection over the US carrier fleet.
In the hands of the US Navy pilots, the aircraft would become the scourge of the Libyan Air Force and would bring Muammar Gaddafi's regime to its knees while attempting to claim the Gulf of Sidra.
But it would be in the hands of Iranian pilots where the aircraft would showcase its most extensive and spectacular combat operations.
Nevertheless, when Iran became an enemy of the United States, the American authorities would stop at nothing to destroy every Tomcat they could get a hand on and prevent the hostile regime from using their own incredible weapon against them…
---
Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

Пікірлер: 532

@2ZZGE100 Жыл бұрын

Fun Fact: Lt. Larry "Music" Muczynski who was one of the F-14 pilots (Fast Eagle 107) in the 1981 Gulf of Sidra combat, said he pulled 10.4 G turn while trying to evade an explosion in the dogfight. The airframe had no damage because Grumman over-engineered the Tomcat. The maintenance people were so happy with the 2-0, inspection did not matter to them. NATOPS imposed a 6.5g limit for the pilots, but in real combat, the pilots were allowed to do whatever it took to survive (Source: 'Tomcat Fury' by Mike Guardia).

@Rickky007 Жыл бұрын

I think it was tested from the factory 16 to 14 gs & top speed Mach 2.5 .

@jimw8016 Жыл бұрын

We had several pilots who routinely "over-G'd" our cats. Had 1 that earned the nick name rivet. Almost every flight he returned with at least 1 rivet popped. I knew exactly where to check after every flight. He would just smile. The most I ever saw was 9.1g'shang. F-14 will Always be my favorite but, she was a maintenance hawg.

@2ZZGE100 Жыл бұрын

@@jimw8016 Thanks for sharing. Really appreciate it. I am sure you know about 'Snort' (R.I.P.) who was famous for that in the Tomcat.

@lancerevell5979 Жыл бұрын

During my Airforce days at Tyndall AFB, Fl. in late 1970s, we hosted a group of F-15A Eagles, newly introduced. They trained on our Gulf missile range. One Eagle pilot over-geed his plane. It had to be trucked back to Langley AFB, Va. Looking down the line of parked Eagles, we could easily see the "bent" airframe. The cockpit and nose were literally bent downwards several degrees! Had he been in a Tomcat, he'd likely have had no problem.

@Twolegger Жыл бұрын

My one-time boss Bill “Root” Jarrot was the RIO on a ready cat while the others were already aloft in the snarl. He and his front seater were on deck should they be needed. I loved working for retired USN Aviators. Even if 1/4 of the stories were actually true, they were all fantastic to hear.

@MFitz12 Жыл бұрын

Iran wasn't a lethal enemy at the time of the sale. They had a higher priority for some high-tech U.S. equipment than some NATO allies.

@timothystrawn1844 Жыл бұрын

And they had the option to purchase the F-15 Eagle if they didn’t want the F-14 Tomcat

@MFitz12 Жыл бұрын

@@timothystrawn1844 - Sure, but Iran never wanted the F-15.

@LCol718 Жыл бұрын

@@MFitz12 Wasnt there a demonstration flight of the two (F14 and F15) and iran chose the F14? If im wrong, i apologize. i read that somewhere a while back.

@MFitz12 Жыл бұрын

@@LCol718 - It is true. The Shah himself attended IIRC. The F-14 team cheated and violated the rules of the demonstration to show off. Not that this mattered as the demo was a formality. The Shah and therefore the IIRAF were all-in on the F-14. Iranian F-14's were BTW fully multi-role capable and it was intended to use them with precision guided air-to-ground weapons including the Condor missile, which was cancelled before entering production.

@Wildstar40 Жыл бұрын

Yeah but it still amounts to selling weapons to the enemy who then pointed and fired said weapons right back at you.

@Sauerbrew777 Жыл бұрын

I was lucky enough to witness the last official flight of the F-14 at NAS Oceana in 2006. It was sad, but awesome at the same time!

@greggstrasser5791 Жыл бұрын

Saw it on a show. That was just sad. They didn’t waste time gutting those things.

@robbabcock_ Жыл бұрын

The F-14 was a remarkable aircraft for its day! And one of the most beautiful planes to ever fly.

@prophet1782 Жыл бұрын

I saw one in Bangalore India in Indian Air Force Show.

@MeBallerman Жыл бұрын

It wasn't "beautiful" - It looked menacing. The Concorde was beautiful.

@AndyFromBeaverton Жыл бұрын

Destroying F-14s and parts should be one of those unforgivable sins.

@Coinz8 Жыл бұрын

So that they don't land in enemy hands? Forgivable sin.

@AndyFromBeaverton Жыл бұрын

@@Coinz8 There are 2 f14s in private hands here in Oregon. Should they be destroyed?

@Coinz8 Жыл бұрын

@AndyFromBeaverton You mean the ones in McMinnville? The wanted parts on those were taken out BEFORE they were sold to the private collector. All non-essential parts remain.

@tobyallred4413 Жыл бұрын

@@AndyFromBeaverton The wing box on every Tomcat was cut so no F-14 on US soil are airworthy.

@cjcoleman3893 Жыл бұрын

@@AndyFromBeaverton were they intentionally destroyed as to make them not be airworthy? Or are they still airworthy craft?

@lt.petemaverickmitchell7113 Жыл бұрын

I made two incredible movies staring this plane. The F18 paled in comparison to my Tomcat in the follow up film. All those years later and the 14 is still larger than life.

@debbiestimac5175 Жыл бұрын

6:53 So that was the scene that inspired them to use T-38s as "MiG-28s" in that tight formation interdiction in the opening scene of the first Top Gun movie. Nice!

@jimw8016 Жыл бұрын

The mig 28s were f5s from nfws

@eflanagan1921 Жыл бұрын

T38 with guns is an F5 , often used as opfor training.

@MattKearneyFan1 Жыл бұрын

F5s

@sebastien3351 Жыл бұрын

I was a young man and I lived through these times, there is NO single source. I had five library cards, I had a "reading addiction" plus, also love to drive forty miles to Stanford University's engineering library, California State University in San Jose, their library spending my Sunday afternoons reading in libraries. I read Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine, most issues. I bought a life time subscription to the monthly magazine US Naval Proceedings starting in 1974. I subscribed to Armor Magazine -the professional magazine for the armor units in the USMC and US Army armor units. I worked at the company AMI, as a design draftsman when the company designed the six chips for the F-14's "wing sweep computer!"

@mikemontgomery2654 Жыл бұрын

Ward Carroll has some great background on what really happened in that incident. Thanks to Ward, I discovered the REAL significance to the F-14 I saw at the Smithsonian.

@571951rhoehn1 Жыл бұрын

The F 14 was an excellent aircraft!

@christopherfarris6404 Жыл бұрын

Got to do a lot of things in and around this aircraft at a very young age thanks to my father's rank when I was a child. Not realizing it could have ended his career if someone who did not like him ever found out. Lucky for him the officers always liked and respected him. Miss those days!

@keithallver2450 Жыл бұрын

The Tomcats that the Iranians have are the F-14A model built in the 70s and they still fly with the original 70s tech still in them so I'd say they are too obsolete to be a threat.

@jimw8016 Жыл бұрын

They have upgraded them with Russian avionics & missiles

@keithallver2450 Жыл бұрын

@@jimw8016 So basically they still are flying with 70s tech. 🤣🤣

@lancerevell5979 Жыл бұрын

Anything that flies and packs weapons can be a threat. But their obsolete tech makes them easier to kill. Likely half, at least, of their Tomcats are nonflyable donors for the few flying. Eventually having no spares will ground them too.

@Tigerdriver91Academy Жыл бұрын

@@jimw8016 You mean downgraded 🤣

@Sjadkamali313 Жыл бұрын

So why you bastards did not do anything wrong to the American soldiers when we attacked Ain al-Assad, if Iran's weapons are obsolete, then it is better to act instead of talking nonsense 🖕🖕🖕

@DriveCarToBar Жыл бұрын

Formidable is not a word I'd use to describe the P&W TF30 engines. It's a fine engine for the F111 for which it was designed, but the second you take it through high AOA maneuvers, you risk upsetting it. It would probably be a really good engine for a bomber.

@shengyi1701 Жыл бұрын

I got to see the ultimate F-14D from VF-2, USS Constellation in 2001 when she visited Singapore. Glad I went on board. So Tom Cruise and I have something in common - got to touch and feel the bird, but he got into the cockpit and “flew’ it. But his was the A model!😊

@EddieF14 Жыл бұрын

my old squadron during Desert Storm on board the USS Ranger.

@shengyi1701 Жыл бұрын

@@EddieF14 I believe your sister squadron, VF-1 Wolfpack shot down a Mil-8 helicopter with an AIM-9!

@jtuttle11 Жыл бұрын

The 'Tulsa' aviation museum has a Tomcat on static display, I believe it is pretty much intact. Its weapons have been removed, but the engines and other equipment are still there. They have it setup so the public can access the cockpit.

@everydayhero5076 Жыл бұрын

@@jtuttle11 Wings over the Rockies in Denver, CO has one too!

@EddieF14 Жыл бұрын

@@shengyi1701 I still remember that Captain Christensen (CO) was very excited announce to the crew during dinner time.

@joemoore4027 Жыл бұрын

I worked for Grumman Aerospace on Long Island, N.Y. at their final assembly plant #6 on the F-14 production line ( power plant dept. ) and final flight plant #7. I remember the last Iranian F-14 that was finished when the U.S. Government seized it before it could be sent out. The aircraft was fully camouflaged and looked unusual to us since we were building U.S. Navy tomcats right along side in the production line. It was stored in an empty hangar for months until one day it was gone. It was said it was flown out one night by an unknown crew to where nobody knew. It just disappeared into the night. Makes you wonder what it was used for ?

@williammoore5277 8 ай бұрын

Training dummy for North Island NAS Air Rework Depot likely. Grumman didn't want the D level repair work.

@matthewpaul5328 Жыл бұрын

FB-111 also had variable geometry wings...

@aarr2603 Жыл бұрын

The Tomcat is arguably the most iconic and beautiful fighter ever built

@specialman6004 Жыл бұрын

Mig-21 is the most iconic jet of all time. The F-14 is likely the most iconic in America.

@rtrThanos Жыл бұрын

I love this channel, but this isn’t how the Gulf of Sidra incident played out. There’s guncam footage and audio of the entire event. We locked them up from long range which usually makes them turn tail and run. But this time they didn’t run. To confirm that they were actually attempting to intercept, the F-14s made about 5 changes in direction and every time they turned their nose into us. At that point the F-14s received “weapons hold” over the radio, meaning they were free to hold weapons in their hands. We fired first, not them, from about 15 miles out. The AIM-7 Sparrow is good for about 7 miles, so considering the closing speed of the aircraft the missile would get there at it’s max range. A 2nd missile was immediately ripple-fired, in case the first failed. At some point one of them fired a missile after our birds were already in the air, but it didn’t matter because that plane was hit and the missile could no longer track since it had no beam to ride. Now we’re merging and the 2nd F-14 should have taken out the 2nd MiG already, but he was in the wrong weapons mode and was too close for an AIM-7. After his RIO urged him to take a shot, the pilot said he can’t because he doesn’t have a tone. At that point he realized his mistake, switched to Sidewinders, got a good tone, and knocked the 2nd MiG out of the sky. So I’m not sure why this video’s talking about them getting the first shot and last minute jinks; possibly confusing Sidra with a different furball.

@rtrThanos Жыл бұрын

I’m pretty sure this video is confusing the Sidra incident with another incident in the same area against 2 Libyan Su-22s. In that incident they did fire first and a missile was jinked. So I’m either misinterpreting the video, or the video is confusing multiple incidents with Libya. Regardless, still a fun vid to watch and I appreciate the vids this channel creates.

@abbaerfani9007 Жыл бұрын

F14 Tomcat is the most beautiful fighter jets in history and also for the time was the best ever in Iran Iraq war one of the F14 took the 11.5 G and still flow back I wish they never ended the Tomcat and we could see the super F14. Thanks for making this great video

@h.y1855 Жыл бұрын

Mighty beast indeed .At that time Iranian pilots were directly trained in u.s. I know this first hand as an Iranian The Shah of Iran at that time, just couple of years before the 1979 revolution, chose F14 over F15.we owe tomcat😊a lot.

@shaahinrapsong Жыл бұрын

That piece of shit Khomeini wanted to give them back to US Shah bought modern military equipment, his majesty dreamed a powerful iran. And Khomeini: "We don't need your scraps" his stupidity said

@lancerevell5979 Жыл бұрын

During my Airforce days (late 1970s), in tech school at Chanute AFB, Ill, we had several Iranian students for the Avionics Instrument Tech field. They had trouble with the written part of the course due to language, but were generally good in the practical lab portion. They also tended to be real "party animals" while here in the USA. They couldn't do that at home.

@JB-xp8xl Жыл бұрын

I heard the full radio comms of the gulf of Sidra engagement. Libyan jets took on an intercept course for the F14's. The F14's diverted coarse six times to avoid them, but the Libyans kept reengaging after each change, finally consent to go weapons free was given and two Libyan jets went down in flames, I for one was pretty proud of our Navy that day.

@shengyi1701 Жыл бұрын

Let’s not forget The Final Countdown. Splash 2, I repeat, splash 2 Zeroes!

@No1harris_98 Жыл бұрын

Nothing beats a good old early, dark skies upload to enjoy 😏

@gorflunk Жыл бұрын

I loved it when the Tomcats intercepted Soviet bombers and transmitted back live video of them shadowing a Bear. Made you feel why you were doing all of this.

@glamdring0007 Жыл бұрын

I like seeing Raptors doing it even better...the Bears never even know the Raptor is there until they decide to let them know.

@tetraxis3011 Жыл бұрын

@@glamdring0007 Except they do. Because at a certain range, even the F22 becomes detectable to radar.

@glamdring0007 Жыл бұрын

@@tetraxis3011 I highly doubt any Bear has a radar capable of detecting an F22 at any range...it's amazing the Bears even can still fly given the sad state of Russia in general today.

@williammoore5277 8 ай бұрын

@@glamdring0007I think that's what he said.

@williammoore5277 8 ай бұрын

@@glamdring0007Oh, they have one, whether it's working is another matter.

@MrHoudini73 Жыл бұрын

F 111 was from General Dynamics. Not from Grumman. And Tomcat could carry six and not to Phoenix.

@sonnyburnett8725 Жыл бұрын

WHAT?

@nickwanrooy6130 Жыл бұрын

Yeah some of the videomakers facts are off (as always with these kind of channels). He says the tf30 was a formidable engine. Even though it was known for compressor stalling and killing pilots on landing.

@michaelpipkin9942 Жыл бұрын

Welcome to the party. Take a shot every time you see a mistake.

@kdrapertrucker Жыл бұрын

Grumman was subcontractor on the F-111, as general dynamics had no knowledge of carrier aircraft design. Just as McDonnel Douglas was subcontractor on both the YF-17 (F-18), and AV-8. But made so many modifications they became the primary contractor

@cjcoleman3893 Жыл бұрын

I think he referred to general combat loadout not technical capability.

@donalddowning4108 Жыл бұрын

If the Tomcat didn’t have such a high maintenance man-hour per flight hour ratio it might have been upgraded and flown for many more years. Now we have the ‘Swiss army knife’ FA-18 that does everything that their predecessor aircraft did but not as effectively. I miss the Tomcat, Intruder, Prowler, and Viking.

@gorflunk Жыл бұрын

Hey, don't forget the Corsair II !

@donalddowning4108 Жыл бұрын

@@gorflunk. I loved the A-7E but those were getting outdated even before the Gulf War. Shoot, I even prefer the Skyhawk over the Hornet for CAS and precision bombing (not to mention ease of maintenance).

@redred222 Жыл бұрын

id take a plane that can go do a mission come back get re fueled and re armed and go back out to fight, often f14s had to have there engines serviced after one battle because of heat, my father serviced f14 it was a good plan but keeping that plane in the air was a pain in the rear, and in fact most f14s after maybe 20 or 30 sorties the engines often had to be replaced the f18 doesnt need that and they can have more planes in the air its sad but the plane was a beast but it needed better engines that could handle the stress of wear and tear

@delten-eleven1910 Жыл бұрын

Yes, what about the S-3B, it shouldn't have been retired.

@donalddowning4108 Жыл бұрын

@@delten-eleven1910. Very short-sighted on the Navy’s part.

@chrisshick2335 Жыл бұрын

Did they account for the F-14 Tom Cruise took from Iran?

@TyrannoJoris_Rex Жыл бұрын

2:24 F-111 was GD, not Grumman

@surlyogre1476 Жыл бұрын

That's General Dynamics, for those viewers that don't speak in acronyms.

@lancerevell5979 Жыл бұрын

General Dynamics also built the F-16. These days, Boeing and Lockheed have pretty much bought out all the others. In most industries monopolizing is highly frowned upon.

@skyden24195 Жыл бұрын

I love how the movie, "Top Gun: Maverick" showcases the vast differences between the technologies of the F-18 Hornet and the F-14 Tomcat.

@eriknewman5288 Жыл бұрын

The Hornet while newer and more modern is still inferior to the Tomcat in the most key aspect. LOITER. The F14 is the sword and shield of the Navy carrier groups with a 1600 mile range. Meanwhile, the F18 is topped out at 1000 miles. Also the F18 is an air superiority fighter its not equipped to defend like the F14. The 14 while expensive to maintain is still better than relegating your Aegis cruisers to Pickett duty when they should be destroying other naval vessels. Upgrading the 14 like we did with the Hornet and the 15EX would've been better.

@davidbarber7487 Жыл бұрын

Maverick should have just pushed the throttle to the firewall and exited the theater by outrunning everyone else. The Tomcat could have done that. See you back at the ship he radios and he's outta there, showcasing one of the outstanding features of the F-14 holds over all modern fighters.

@dillonh321 Жыл бұрын

It’s a movie so it’s not the most accurate representation. But the F14 was meant to be a advanced fighter and the fa18 was meant to be a low cost replacement.

@eriknewman5288 Жыл бұрын

@@dillonh321 it doesn't replace the F14 because it lacks the defense role the 14 filled. It's just a cheap air superiority multi role fighter.

@dillonh321 Жыл бұрын

@@eriknewman5288 It does lack, but the Navy replaced the f14 with the fa18 anyways.

@seowkokpoh5104 Жыл бұрын

F14 will always be my most fav fighter jet! Nothing can replaced it!

@Jahr_1974 Жыл бұрын

Imagine seeing an F-14 Tomcat on your radar as an Iraqi pilot.

@junxuan5983 Жыл бұрын

naw bro u wouldnt even see the tomcat if you were flying a older soviet iraqi jet

@Jahr_1974 Жыл бұрын

@junxuan5983 the Iraqi did fly French fighters right

@terminalfx Жыл бұрын

If you were an Iraqi in the air lucky enough to see em on radar you likely had a Phoenix already en route to greet you.

@anthonykeel1058 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for a awesome video! The Tomcat is by far one of my favorite aircraft of all time! Never did get to see one fly

@easy_eight2810 Жыл бұрын

There was an incident in 2013, when two Iranian F-4s were sent to intercept a US MQ-1 flying routine surveillance mission over Persian Gulf. However, they were unaware about two F-22s escorting the drone. The two F-22s flew under the F-4s to check their payload, remained undetected by both the F-4s and Iranian radar control. Until the F-22 pilots flew from under to beside the F-4s, broke radio silence when they can see each other, one of the F-22 pilots told those Iranians: "You really ought to go home" and the F-4s retreated.

@LeopardIL2 Жыл бұрын

The engines alone were top notch for the time. Perhaps the best navy fighter ever, despite her size. The Libyan pilots were most likely cadets. Mincemeat.

@wb6353 Жыл бұрын

The original TF-30 engines of the Tomcat were replaced with General Electric F110. TF-30 we’re far from top notch.

@redred222 Жыл бұрын

@@wb6353 yep my dad has told me stories on how the planes would come back after a sortie and needed at least one of the engines serviced, and im not talking about normal they needed to be torn completely apart and put back together, or they had to be replaced all together, and then reagan sold them to iran, such a stupid move

@jaws666 Жыл бұрын

@@wb6353 yep.the TF-30 was actually very UNRELIABLE and thats why they were switched out....while they were equiped with the TF-30 engines the U.S. navy had a LOT of problems with their F-14s

@jaws666 Жыл бұрын

Poxy robot voice

@robertf3479 Жыл бұрын

@@wb6353 The GE engines only made it into part of the fleet. F14A and C models were still equipped with the TF-30 right up until the end while the F14B and D ... the GE F110 improved the performance of the aircraft, greater acceleration and thrust meant that at times the Tomcat B & D did not need afterburners for carrier launch when lightly loaded, plus the GE engine wasn't as temperamental as the P&W TF-30.

@BigUnitBeef Жыл бұрын

Talked to a couple Navy pilots. They both said the Navy retired the wrong plane. F-14 was a far better platform and would be far more lethal if they would have gotten the upgrades proposed by Boeing.....

@robertf3479 Жыл бұрын

I was a surface sailor. Both times I sailed in Harm's Way (Libya - Gulf of Sidra well below Ghadaffy's Line of Death and during Desert Storm) we had Tomcats overhead flying BARCAP with Hawkeyes on overwatch. Having the Toms overhead was reassuring even though one of our three ships was an Aegis cruiser.

@sameerthakur720 Жыл бұрын

It truly was a line of death, but for whom? Unlucky Libyan pilots who had to obey their master's command and engage US fighters.

@richtakings3359 Жыл бұрын

I like how when ever library footage is shown of aircraft design there is always a chap with a pipe huffing away at his favorite tobacco...it is almost cannon at this point.

@SgtMclupus Жыл бұрын

You can't say "with the addition of a variable geometry wing" when the F-111 Aardwark has that too! That is what the two planes have in common; variable wings and the engines!

@24tanksalot Жыл бұрын

Great video. Please keep them coming

@sardaukerlegion Жыл бұрын

"Selling a Lethal Aircraft Fighter to the Enemy" don't underestimate the Power of Money.

@sgt_s4und3r54 Жыл бұрын

2 AIM54? that was just one configuration. she could carry 6 at a time minus aim9s and aim7s. The 2 AIM54 config gives 4 aim7s and 4 aim9s depending on the mounts used.

@Bob-qk2zg Жыл бұрын

I served 6 months TAD (TDY for army guys) on the USS Forestal which had new F14s. A great performer but the aviation machinist mates cursed the swing wing system. Heavy, complex and difficult to work on.

@davidkelley5382 Жыл бұрын

A small price to pay for the lives of our pilots & sailors alone & domination of naval avation thrown in as a bonus. They were incredible machines that any foe had to consider if they wanted our carriers on the bottom.

@willisix2554 Жыл бұрын

If they had the same wing pivot point as the F- 111. I know exactly what he meant

@redred222 Жыл бұрын

my dad said it was the engines that gave them the most problems, saw a few crash because of engine damage during normal training missions, two things if they could have found the right engine for the beast and two if reagan hadent sold them to iran, what the heck was he thinking

@willisix2554 Жыл бұрын

@@redred222 Regan didn't sell then

@redred222 Жыл бұрын

@@willisix2554 who was president when those where sold to Iran

@michaeldobson107 Жыл бұрын

That is the problem with arms sales (for any country, not just the US) is that you simply cannot see into the future. No one has a crystal ball. The "friend" you are selling your equipment to in one decade can suddenly become your hated enemy in future decades, as the US saw with Iran, who flipped a complete 180 in 1979. Another example would be Vietnam, whose relations with the US have become increasingly cooperative and comprehensive, evolving into a flourishing partnership that spans political, economic, and security spheres, forty-eight years after the Vietnam conflict.

@frankhaunter4291 Жыл бұрын

Another amazing document, thanks much!

@KerbyDaFrog Жыл бұрын

Love your Dark series'! Great work!

@bush_wookie_9606 Жыл бұрын

When did the Soviets ever have air superiority

@montevallomustang Жыл бұрын

The soviets never had air superiority, in the late 60s the us projected they would gain air superiority because of the mig 25. Military intelligence (lol) thought the mig 25 was going to be a super maneuverable fighter.

@gracelandone Жыл бұрын

The F-111 was a General Dynamics product.

@Kebria Жыл бұрын

you can dedicate an episode to Iran-US pre revolution defensive cooperations (like never realized purchase and assembly of 400 F-16s)

@gooner72 Жыл бұрын

She's one of my favourite aircraft ever designed, not only is she a technical marvel and unbelievably powerful, she's achingly beautiful to look at from every angle. ❤️

@Flooblecrank Жыл бұрын

The TF30 engines were horrible for the Tomcat. Lots of compressor stalls that killed a lot of aviators.

@RaviKumar-lq1vx Жыл бұрын

It's really a very good video with war time footages. Good work done.

@TXH1138 Жыл бұрын

Turkey and the F-35 might be a similar story.

@chriswatt859 Жыл бұрын

I always find the tornado and the f14 Tom cat similar both had swing wing and were very capable

@tombreeze2055 Жыл бұрын

@ Dark Skies You said Iraq by mistake, I know you meant Iran would have been the hostile regime you were referring to. Keep up the good work! I watch all of your videos.😁

@RolfSAMA Жыл бұрын

Most interesting. I'm a fan of Tomcat & never knew this part of its operational history.

@watcher5729 Жыл бұрын

Aint that a tomcat movie ? Maverick persian? Hell yea

@cadamsm11 Жыл бұрын

Has it ever been considered, with planes we sell to other countries, to have a hidden ‘self destruct/turn-off function in the aircraft’s computer in case the country in question becomes our enemy?

@tamer1773 Жыл бұрын

I've heard from retired Grumman people that before the Grumman technicians left Iran around the time of the return of the nutty Ayatollah they made some corrections and additions to software that rendered the Iranian F-14's a lot less capable than when they were delivered.

@leonasmith6180 Жыл бұрын

Thanks again, Leona.

@hk705 Жыл бұрын

It was the Iranians that made the Tomcat the legendary it truely deserved.

@bennynamn8063 Жыл бұрын

Please can't you stop the sound of (music) or whatever you call it. It is so disturbing for us who have hearing problems

@skykid28 Жыл бұрын

Too funny, I literally just finished working on a model of an Iran F-14

@PiggyKasparov Жыл бұрын

5:30 “regarding armament. The new fighter was equipped with 2 AIM54…” No it wasn’t. At least double that. Sometimes 3 times that. [And the video just showed a Tomcat carrying 6x AIM54s a moment later.]

@foxfire7604 Жыл бұрын

Nice video, two corrections: The Libyian planes were not Sukoi 22, they were Mig-23 floggers. As for the F-111, they were woefully underpowered and designed as more of a bomber than a fighter.

@k.h.1587 Жыл бұрын

Pretty sure the mig23 were only in the second gulf of sidra incident, the first were su22

@chasemccall391 Жыл бұрын

Love the cobra @ 4:50

@ohger1 3 ай бұрын

9:43 Thank you Jimmy Carter.

@bradleytenderholt5135 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for making such a fine video!

@radarmike6713 Жыл бұрын

Iran has proved how an airframe or fighting platform isn't obsolescence when the manufacturer or politicians say so. It's when it's truly unable to continue. I say the tomcat to this day was is and will always be a better platform than the F-18 and maybe eventually f35 as they are too into technology and not enough piloting.

@Coinz8 Жыл бұрын

Yeah, no. Airframe expiration is set by the manufacturer, not a politician. It is the politician who approves of replacing a piece of equipment with something that is cheaper and hopefully better than its predecessor. The F35 is flown by a pilot, just like the F14 which also had computers. The F35 is the better plane, way better as its modern tech and not 70s tech.

@radarmike6713 Жыл бұрын

@@Coinz8 manufacturer says this long...but many times airframes are no where near the degrigation. So the manufacturer can sell another new airframe. Politicians decide a lifespans of an airframe by politically making issue or some other way to pressure the retirement or cancelation. Airframes and technology are not truly human controlled. Computers will override people at times. We've seen this in the civillian sector with disastrous results. 70s tech used the best of both worlds. Intuition and technology as a cohesive partnership. There's too much tech that can fail or have issues keeping the birds on the ground or a 100 other factors affecting performance and mission capability. I understand where you come from. But as a person whose been around a lot of platforms and airframes...I'll forever stand by my statement.

@shsfootball7478 Жыл бұрын

@@Coinz8 Saying the F-35 is a “better plane” doesn’t tell even a quarter of the full story. The mission profiles for the F-14 and the F-35 are vastly different and were designed for very different purposes. The F-35 is obviously superior in terms of its stealth / radar cross section, radar, anvionics, and its datalink tech. The F-14 was (and still would be) a much better fleet defense interceptor than the F-35 (and the F-18). The F-35 is slower and less maneuverable than the F-14 and many 4th generation fighters because that’s not important in its mission profile. Head-to-head, an F-35 probably destroys a Tomcat because it could lock and fire before the F-14 even knew it was there. But head-to-head is not a measure of “which plane is the best,” because they are designed for different purposes. It’s like saying a 2023 Honda Civic Type R is a “better vehicle” than a 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500. They’re totally different things from totally different eras with such different capabilities in various dimensions. Is the F-35 equipped with superior tech? Of course. Is it a better fleet defense option than the Tomcat? No. Not even close. But a Ferrari also isn’t as awesome in the snow as a Ford F-150.

@LonMoer Жыл бұрын

During WW II Grumman developed a series of fighters that used the cat name; F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat. When they developed their F7F Tigercat they were going to call it Tomcat, but in the 1940's "Tomcat" was considered lewd terminology. Funny how when they decided to use the Tomcat name for the F-14 they clarified that they named it after an Admiral....lol

@EddieF14 Жыл бұрын

It's because of Vice Admiral Tom Conolly's testimony in front of Congress about how bad the F-111 was for the navy and the program got canceled. That didn't sit well with SECDEF McNamara because he was pro-F-111 program and buddies with the CEO of GD. The testimony basically halted his promotion to a 4-star admiral so the navy decide to name the F-14 "Tomcat" to honor him instead.

@williammoore5277 8 ай бұрын

Is that why the Official patch has a cat with two tails?

@timsullivan4566 Жыл бұрын

What was the U.S. assessment of that extraordinary Iran-Iraq War kill to loss ratio claimed by Tehran? Anybody have any ides?

@andrewtarango4128 Жыл бұрын

Loved this video thanks you for your endless work.

@Desire123ification Жыл бұрын

Great Channel: Keep it up! 💯

@parkerrls Жыл бұрын

Best one yet 👌

@chrisholznagel7428 Жыл бұрын

The F111b never had a crash. Seven development aircraft was built. When the US navy scrapped the program all 7airframes went on the USAF and became FB111A .

@MohammadSadeqBozorgnejad-mv7rr Жыл бұрын

At the time of selling these planes to Iran, there was no enmity between Iran and America and Iran was one of America's best allies

@k.h.1587 Жыл бұрын

F111 was general dynamics not Grumman. Grumman did team up with GD on the B version, but that got cancelled

@manwithnoname691 Жыл бұрын

The F-14 is still to this day the most beautiful bird to fly in any military!!!

@bobclifton8021 6 ай бұрын

All fighter planes are lethal! There would be no reason to have one that wasn't.

@josephanderson7464 Жыл бұрын

So on the whole correct but seems some of the basic weapons info is off a bit. Can mount six phoenix and 2 side winders (AIM-54, AIM-7) but not usually. CAP load out was usually an AIM-9 on one pylon, an AIM-7 on the opposite and an AIM-54 on a forward belly station although I seem to remember a 2 - 2 - 2 load out working up in Roosevelt Rhoads

@rodolfohernandez3303 Жыл бұрын

Now we need the F14 Tomcat video from Dark Skies.

@PiggyKasparov Жыл бұрын

3:55 The Tomcat had all the stuff the F111 had and added variable swept wings-that’s not accurate. The F111 had variable sweep wings too. The Tomcat featured a lifting body. Which it doesn’t look like the F111 had.

@Lexe-is5nv Жыл бұрын

And was the first plane to have terrain hugging radar and a few other tech things that are common place these days

@mylesdobinson1534 Жыл бұрын

The Iranians have fitted, I Hawk SAM'S to their Tomcats after running out of the Phoenix missiles.

@Acc0rd79 Жыл бұрын

They have been reverse engineering all the parts for the plane so they can keep them flying. With the help of the Soviets it was probably pretty easy to make most of the parts they need to keep them flying.

@camdenharper7244 Жыл бұрын

Really think the F-14 is the biggest reason the F-22 was barred by congress from being exported

@pmp3446 Жыл бұрын

The F111 had variable geometry wings.

@jacobmccandles1767 Жыл бұрын

1) No, we didn't sell them to the enemy. 2) they are early 4th gen at best...maybe late 3rd. I mean not late 3rd....but retired for a reason. 3) We ran ours through a grinder so parts are mighty hard to come by.

@williammoore5277 8 ай бұрын

That's what we got from reducing the Carrier fleet from the numbers even during the Post Vietnam era to the Reductions we saw after The Soviet Union collapsed. Every CTF and CAG retired was billions to pay for what we have now.

@jacobmccandles1767 8 ай бұрын

@@williammoore5277 we seem to be faring well. Weak leadership is doing a lot of damage though.

@brybish Жыл бұрын

A lethal but beautiful aircraft as a brit its beauty is on par with the spitfire all aircraft have issues nothing is perfect but it's done its thing in combat.

@kowell Жыл бұрын

To think that canada came this close to buying Iran' Tomcats following the regime change. RCAF Tomcats would have been awesome.

@rookie962 Жыл бұрын

The F14 was solely designed to carry a WSO, a huge radar and the Phoenix missile system. Without either of those 3, the platform is a noise maker at best.

@williammoore5277 8 ай бұрын

There is no better dogfighter built since. And we Americans are pretty bright. If we can keep the B-52 as a viable platform we could probably find something to do with an F-14. Who's doing the F-8 Photo mission now, Some Lawn dart?

@beardedguy7321 Жыл бұрын

Well we know Tom Cruze took at least one F-14.

@PhlappyBird Жыл бұрын

So they’re not gonna mention the US never launched any AIM-54s in combat?

@patrickbrady519 Жыл бұрын

Or that the F22 has a kill record of 1 ,a Ballon. Now they say it's on its way out. A balloon. 300. Trillion Bucks, give or take a Trillion.All the Hype about it, Time n Energy,so good ya can't sell it abroad. So Good yer scared to get it shot down in a conflict. Cause now they got your super secret plane in a hanger tearing it down. So Wadda,we got to show for that bad ass plane A. Ballon😂geeeezzz

@III1IlIIlIllIl Жыл бұрын

@@patrickbrady519 What poor country are you from? The f-22 must make your country look weak.

@Coinz8 Жыл бұрын

@@patrickbrady519 your typing is atrocious.

@ReviveHF Жыл бұрын

Those new Russian jets were meant to replace the aging F-4 Phantoms, and this is the only thing Iran could buy.

@gl1500ctv Жыл бұрын

Do we now have a remote kill switch for exported lethal arms which might fall into enemy hands? Like they have to "check in" with a US server every 30 days or be disabled? You would think nowadays we'd have a "password" of some kind to prevent this from happening.

@Iman_capcut Жыл бұрын

The beautiful jet ever build..as are kid ihave 1 model f 14 tomcat

@glenwoodriverresidentsgrou136 Жыл бұрын

Small correction. General Dynamics designed the F-111, not Grumman. Grumman modified the F-111B design for carrier use.

@robertf3479 Жыл бұрын

The Grumman F-14, in all but concept, engines and general layout is a totally different aircraft. Unlike the F-111B, the F-14A was designed from the outset for carrier operations. People would point out how large and heavy the Tomcat was, but the F-111B was even heavier with a lower thrust to weight ratio, critical for carrier operations.

@hichic4390 Жыл бұрын

Tomcats proved their worth during Iran's war with Iraq. The designers of this platform are worthy of respect, this is a fact that Iran has called for many times. It is sad that the American authorities destroyed their fleet of Tomcats following an emotional decision. Just to prevent Iran from getting the parts it needs, it is ironic that Iran's Tomcats are still flying by supplying and manufacturing what it needs, it is made inside Iran and various parts have been upgraded.

@nickwanrooy6130 Жыл бұрын

Just to get some facts straight. Wich the narrator screwed up. The F14 tomcat can carry up to: 6 AIM54 phoenix 6 AIM7 sparrow 4 AIM9 sidewinders Or a combination of these. Also the TF 30 was not considered a formidable engine. Grumman was forced to use it. The TF30 compressor stalled a lot. And had massive throttle imput lag. Killing a fair amount off pilots on landing. Hence the reason they replaced it with the GE f110 engine in the F14B and D models. Also the kills on the Libian SU22 was not done by "a quick burst of fire" both jets where shot down with a heatseaking AIM9L missile. These are small mistakes made by the video creator. Wich don't really matter to much. However they are all well documented facts, and literally just a simple Google search away.