The fate and revive of the F-14-READ!

[Corsair7662]

That Fate:

 

Grumman Corporation had submitted several proposals to the U.S. Navy to upgrade the F-14 Tomcat beyond the F-14D model, such as the Super Tomcat 21, the cheaper QuickStrike version, and the more advanced Attack Super Tomcat 21. Instead of a flyoff between competing designs, the Navy committed to the development of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet without a competitive flyoff. The Secretary of Defense at the time, Dick Cheney, mandated the retirement the F-14 and chose the the F/A-18E/F to fill the role of fleet defense formerly carried out by the F-14. Many believed that the decision to replace the Tomcat with the Super Hornet was motivated more by politics than combat performance.

When the A-12 Avenger II project was cancelled in 1991, the Navy opted to upgrade the basic F/A-18A-C Hornet to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as an alternate way to replace the strike capability of the A-6 Intruder. This would improve the oft-criticized short range and payload capabilities of the Hornet. With a little nudging from Dick Cheney, who refused congressional requests for funding new-build F-14s and ordered tooling for new F-14's and replacement parts destroyed, the Navy elected to replace the both the A-6 and F-14 with the Super Hornet.

In a controversy surpassing that of the original F-111B TFX debacle, critics such as Bob Kress, engineering manager of the F-14, believe that the F-14D Tomcat has about twice the range and payload, and much faster with either bomb or missile payloads. While the F-14 would have been a modification of a proven design, the Super Hornet would end up nearly as large as the F-15 Eagle, with very little parts commonality with the original Hornet. Some Tomcat pilots from the USS Theodore Roosevelt scheduled to transition to the Super Hornet were especially upset at the replacement decision.

Bob Kress estimated that the F/A-18E/F has about 66% the range / payload capability of the F-14. The radius of an F-14 carrying four 2,000-pound LGBs, two HARM missiles, two Sidewinder missiles, and two 280-gallon external tanks is at least 500 statute miles. Super Hornets are not as agile in combat as the original Hornets. They have a gross weight over 66,000 lbs, not only heavier than the classic heavyweight F-4 Phantom, but comparable to the Tomcat and even exceeds the original 55,000 lbs TFX specification which shot down the F-111B proposal. Yet the Super Hornet has only a 350-statute-mile radius carrying about half the bomb load.

While the proposed F6D Missileer was slated to carry eight long range missiles, the F-14 could carry six medium or long range missiles, although it typically carried four long range Phoenix missiles on missions due to bringback weight limitations. The Super Hornet will load out at four AIM-7 Sparrow or up to twelve AMRAAM missiles with a shorter range than the F-14's AIM-54 Pheonix. However, newer versions of the AMRAAM such as the AIM-120C-5 and AIM-120C-7 as well as planned future versions such as the AIM-120D are greatly extending the range of the missile, in the case of the latter almost to that of the Phoenix.

It should be noted that the F-14 always held the capability to utilize the AIM-120 AMRAAM, but the Navy decided against integrating the software modifications needed for the AWG-9 and APG-71 weapons systems, the main reason being that the F-14 already set the standard for BVR capability with the AIM-54.

Without the ability to re-manufacture or replace the F-14 fleet, the tired and high-maintenance airframes and engines fitted mostly with technology from the 1970's are reaching the limit of their useful lives, though by many standards the F-14 is still competitive or superior to most other operational fighters, including the Super Hornet. A major factor to incorporate the F/A-18E/F and decommission the F-14 is the high amount of maintenance required to keep the Tomcats operational. On average, an F-14 requires nearly fifty maintenance hours for every flight hour, five to ten times that required by the F/A-18E/F.

As a result of the end of F-14 production, Grumman was acquired by Northrop Corporation in 1994 (the F-14 was probably the only program keeping them in business), sealing the fate of the F-14. While many military aircraft are put into storage when obsolete, the F-14 would instead be cut up into scrap. AMARC still has a substantial number of F-14's in storage.

 

The place the Navy will likely go to in the near future

 

The Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) is an aircraft storage and maintenance facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. It is currently responsible for more than 4,400 aircraft, including 700 F-4 Phantom II's. A recent estimate put the sum of the original purchase prices of these aircraft at $27 billion. An Air Force Material Command unit, AMARC was originally meant solely for the storage of excess Department of Defense and Coast Guard aircraft. In recent years, however, the facility has been designated as the sole respository of out-of-service aircraft from all branches of the United States government.

AMARC was established shortly after World War II to house B-29 and C-47 aircraft. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was chosen because of Tucson's low humidity, infrequent rainfall, and alkaline soil. The hard soil makes it possible to move aircraft around without having to pave the storage areas.

In accordance with the START I treaty, AMARC was tasked with eliminating 365 B-52 bombers. The progress of this task was to be verified by the Russians via satellite and first-person inspection at the AMARC facility. Initially, the B-52s were chopped into pieces with a 13,000-pound guillotine. Later on, the tool of choice became K-12 rescue saws. This more precise technique afforded AMARC with salvagable spare parts.

There are four categories of storage for planes at AMARC:

• Long Term - Aircraft are kept intact for future use

  
  

• Parts Reclamation - Aircraft are kept, picked apart and used for spare parts

  
  

• Flying Hold - Aircraft are kept intact for shorter stays than Long Term

  
  

• Excess of DoD needs - Aircraft are sold off whole or in parts

  
  

AMARC employs 550 people, almost all of whom are civilians. The facility covers 2600 acres and is adjacent to the base. The economics of AMARC are highly advantageous for the federal government. For every $1 spent operating the facility, $11 is saved/produced from harvesting spare parts and selling off inventory.

An aircraft going into storage undergoes the following treatments:

• All guns, ejection seat charges, classified or pilferable items are removed

  
  

• The fuel system is protected by draining it, refilling it with lightweight oil, and then draining it again. This leaves a protective oil film.

  
  

• Measures are taken to seal off the aircraft from dust and high temperatures. This is done using a variety of materials, ranging from a high tech vinyl plastic compound (spraylat) to simple garbage bags.

  
  

The center annually in-processes about 400 aircraft for storage and out-processes about the same number for return to the active service, either as remotely controlled drones or sold to friendly foreign governments. For instance, Turkey has purchased several Vietnam-era jets in recent years that had been kept at AMARC.

Bus tours are conducted on a regular basis from the nearby Pima Air & Space Museum.

The center was memorably featured in a scene from the 1992 experimental documentary film Baraka. The center was also featured at the end of Werner Herzog's 1997 documentary film Little Dieter Needs to Fly.

 

Variants:

Type and AMARC Count

Grumman F-14A Tomcat-145

Grumman F-14B Tomcat-30

Grumman F-14D Tomcat-8

Grumman NF-14A Tomcat-2

Grumman NF-14B Tomcat-1

Grumman NF-14D Tomcat-1

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tucson,+az&ll=32.170890,-110.855184&spn=0.016737,0.030088&t=k&hl=en

 

 

Other Off-set links-

http://www.dm.af.mil/units/amarc.asp

http://www.amarcexperience.com/

http://www.birdseyetourist.com/?p=1482

 

Information provided by Wikipedia.com

[hitman]

Draggin' this dead cat all over the road after its been squashed by a Mac truck.

[RvETito]

I strongly admire the way that the USAF treats it's retired a/c. Many countries, uncluding mine, have a lot to learn about effeciency of a/c's resource management.

[Hellcat61]

I certainly miss that jet. There truly isn't anything else like it in the world.

[Alfa]

I strongly admire the way that the USAF treats it's retired a/c. Many countries, uncluding mine, have a lot to learn about effeciency of a/c's resource management.

 

....such as getting hold of a dry desert for storage :D

 

- JJ.

[Guest IguanaKing]

Don't knock it Jens...lots of good things for current aircraft come out of AMARC. Its like a nicely organized spare parts junk yard...a gold mine. ;)

[Pilotasso]

I strongly admire the way that the USAF treats it's retired a/c. Many countries, uncluding mine, have a lot to learn about effeciency of a/c's resource management.

 

 

yeah because of that we aquired 20 extra F-16's el cheapo... not sure if thats good or bad. :D

 

They had 900-1200 hours in them (I asked directly to the airforce weeks ago) and were late 80's airframes. They are currently left for last in the MLU's as the block 15 we bought in 1994 were actualy built arround block 50 structural cells and have all the spaces needed for wiring the new weapons such as the AMRAAM. The others do not, and gave a few headaches for the cable work.

[uhoh7]

I knew there was some reason I hate Dick Cheney...

[Guest IguanaKing]

THAT was your only reason?! J/K :D

[ViperEagle]

We have to look at the time. The Cold War was over, the Tomcat had not yet been cleared for a bombing role. At the time, it was a logical decision.I love the Tomcat, but lets be realistic.

[Guest IguanaKing]

Agreed...and it wasn't the sole decision of the SecDef, Congress had to vote on it as well. Oddly enough, the voting at that time on BOTH sides of the fence was recently used in US elections. Maybe they expected that we'd all forget that they all pretty much voted the same way back then...but I didn't. As they say...politicians are like diapers...both need to be changed frequently for the same reason. :D

[Alfa]

Don't knock it Jens...lots of good things for current aircraft come out of AMARC. Its like a nicely organized spare parts junk yard...a gold mine. ;)

 

I am not knocking it at all IK - on the contrary.

 

What I meant was that in Europe we don't have the climatic conditions to store aircraft out in the open like that.....they would rot away.

 

- JJ.

[RvETito]

Don't knock it Jens...lots of good things for current aircraft come out of AMARC. Its like a nicely organized spare parts junk yard...a gold mine. ;)

 

I read somewhere that the AMARC saves to the AF budget approximately 800 million $ per year in terms of spare parts, equipement and sales. That's may be twice or even more the military budget of my country.

[Guest IguanaKing]

I am not knocking it at all IK - on the contrary.

 

What I meant was that in Europe we don't have the climatic conditions to store aircraft out in the open like that.....they would rot away.

 

- JJ.

 

Ah...roger that. "Keep in a cool, dry place." Well, AMARC has the dry part down anyway. :D