Cooper, Tom In the Claws of the Tomcat. US Navy F-14 Tomcat in Combat, 1987-2000

Equipped with well-balanced air wings, huge aircraft carriers have formed the backbone of the United States Navys doctrine and strategy since the Second World War. Packing an enormous punch, their purpose is to exercise control over enormous portions of airspace in the offence or defence. From the mid-1970s until the mid-2000s, the spear tip of the USN air wings was the famous Grumman F-14 "Tomcat" widely considered one of the finest air superiority systems in the world. Originally designed as a fast, manoeuvrable and well-armed fighter, the "Tomcat" entered service as the ultimate long-range fleet defender and became the biggest, most complex and most expensive naval aircraft of its time. Including a unique and exceptional combination of flight characteristics, detection systems and weapons, it earned itself the status of a legend by the mid-1980s. The F-14 "Tomcats" of the U.S. Navy achieved their first aerial victories during freedom of navigation exercises off Libya in 1981. However, the period during which they saw most combat followed several years later, during Operations "Earnest Will" and then "Desert Storm", from 1987 until 1991. To date, very little has been published about the operations in question. Indeed, the widespread belief is that USN F-14s saw next to no air combat against Iran, and even less so during Operation "Desert Storm" in 1991. As so often, the reality is entirely different: Tomcats engaged dozens of opponents, often on the verge of the engagement envelope of their powerful AWG-9 radars and AIM-54 "Phoenix" long-range air-to-air missiles, and sometimes at such close ranges that their pilots selected "guns". Weather- and communications-related problems, but also the incredible discipline of their crews prevented them from scoring up to a dozen aerial victories: however, it is perfectly possible that they scored at least one, perhaps more previously entirely unknown aerial victories - and also lost one of their own to an enemy fighter. Richly illustrated by over 100 photographs and authentic colour profiles, this publication is an exclusive source of reference about some of least-well known air combats fought by U.S. Navys fighter crews in recent history.

However, the period in which they saw the most combat came several years later, during Operations Earnest Will and Desert Storm in 1987 and 1991, respectively. To date, very little has been published about the role of the F-14s in these military endeavours. In fact, it is widely believed that U.S. Navy F-14s rarely engaged in aerial combat against Iranian aircraft and were virtually inactive in this regard during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. This work is an exclusive source of information on some of the least known aerial combat missions fought by U.S. Navy crews in recent history.