Grumman F-14 A Tomcat

Grumman F-14 A Tomcat of VF-84, in “U.S.S. Nimitz Ten” livery, celebrating the 10 years of Jolly Rogers deployments with CSG-11, from 1977 to 1987. Shown here is VF-84 202 BuNo 16023, former 203, assigned to LTJG. Skarah “Hit Girl” Zane when she took over the squadron’s XO position. CDR. Asra “Cougar” Kron was her assigned RIO at the time.
AMOK’s F-14 A’s of VF-84 and F-14 D’s of VF-101 are still the reference in U.S. Navy SL service, although the Navy is procuring an up to NFWS standards F-14 Super Tomcat with several Second Life manufacturers. Flag of the Third Fleet air component and star of the Navy Fighter Weapons School at Miramar, the Tomcat is expected to remain in service well into the next decade in all her variants.

Real life notes: 

The F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-place strike fighter manufactured by Grumman Aircraft Corporation. The multiple tasks of navigation, target acquisition, electronic counter measures (ECM), and weapons employment are divided between the pilot and the radar intercept officer (RIO). Primary missions include precision strike against ground targets, air superiority, and fleet air defense. As a Strike Fighter, the Tomcat is capable of deploying an assortment of air-to-ground ordnance in various configurations, while simultaneously carrying AIM-7, AIM-9 and AIM-54’s.
It may carry the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) providing in-theater tactical reconnaissance. The maiden flight took place on December 21st 1970 and the type was retired from service on September 22nd 2006.

In the words of CAPT Scott Swift, deputy commander CVW-41, 2003:
"Even with the arrival of the F/A-18E Super Hornet in the force, the F-14 remains 'the platform of choice for precision targeting'. It has longer range than the Super Hornet, and the LANTIRN targeting pod is superior to the Nite Hawk the F/A-18Es carry."

U.S. Navy statement, 2000:
"The F-14 Tomcat continues to be a premier long-range strike-fighter as evidenced by its superb performance in Operation Allied Force and the strikes in Operation Southern Watch. 
While the Navy provided only eight percent of the total dedicated aircraft in Operation Allied Force, the Navy was credited with 30 percent of the validated kills against fielded forces in Kosovo as a result of the superb performance of the Tomcat in the Forward Air Controller (Airborne) (FAC(A)) role. Another revolutionary feature of the Tomcat is the recent Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting InfraRed at Night (LANTIRN) system software update that enables the Tomcat to acquire mensurated target coordinates that are accurate enough for GPS weapons, which is unique to the Tomcat. The Tomcat's "Roadmap for the Future"—a plan to incorporate significant performance improvements during the next four years, including through-the-weather precision strike capability—makes it the platform of choice for all-weather, day or night, deep strike."


CDR. Asra "Cougar" Kron
NASMCO, VF-84 201, VF-101 106

Suggested references:

Navy Fighter Weapons School "TOPGUN" in the first person - John R. Chesire CDR USNR (ret.)
Home of M.A.T.S. - The Grumman F-14 Tomcat Reference Work