F-14 AT 50: IRAN'S FERAL TOMCATS
- Aviation Features
- F-14 AT 50: Iran's Feral Tomcats
By
Chris Croot 23rd December 2020
FEATURE
Only two countries in the world have ever operated Grumman's mighty F-14 Tomcat. The first is obvious, but given the current state of international affairs, the second seems far less likely. US-Iran relations have deteriorated over the past decades, but in the mid-1970’s the situation couldn’t have been more different. This is the story of the Persian big cats and how, despite the odds, the Iranians are keeping this aviation legend flying.
Iranian F-14As, serials 3-6029 and 3-6052, can be seen during the Kish Airshow on November 28, 2018. Keyvan Tavakkoli
Iran-Iraq relations
The Middle East has long been the fulcrum in East-West relations. In the 1970s, this balancing point sat over Iraq and Iran. Iraq experienced a somewhat turbulent relationship with the Soviet Union: a military coup in 1958 saw relations bloom, yet another in February 1963 (which resulted in a purge of perhaps as many as 5,000 communists) threatened to derail everything. The Soviets agreed to start re-supplying the now Baathist-controlled nation with fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles and military advisors. Relations peaked on April 9, 1972, when the two nations signed a historic treaty of friendship and co-operation leading to deliveries of the latest Soviet military hardware. The agreement gave the Soviets both influence over the region, as well as direct access to one of the world’s largest oil exporters.
At the time, Iran’s largely Shia Muslim population was directly opposed to Iraq’s Sunni government and the two contrasting ideologies led to a fractious relationship between the neighboring nations. A year before the Iraq-Soviet treaty was signed, the Iraqi government had broken off all relations with the Iranians, while Iran harboured and armed Kurdish rebels. The arrival in Iraq of the latest Soviet military equipment forced the then (and ultimately last) Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to act.
F-14A, serial 3-6077 (former US Navy BuNo: 160375) taxiing after landing during a Military Day parade rehearsal on April 16, 2012. Danial Behmanesh
Tomcats vs Eagles
The Shah wanted aircraft which would deter any Iraqi aggression and allow the Iranians to project power across the entire Persian Gulf region. High-flying Soviet MiG-25 Foxbats, which were making regular reconnaissance flights over Iran, were a major headache for the military and the Shah needed something to repel them. He approached the United States, seeking to purchase a fleet of fighter aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle and the Grumman F-14 Tomcat being key contenders. In 1971, the two aircraft were displayed to the Shah at Andrews AFB by company test pilots. The F-15 piloted by Irv Burrows flew first, with the Grumman test crew, Don Evans and Dennis Romano, getting airborne straight after. Grumman knew the Tomcat’s weight and engines (Pratt & Whitney TF30) gave the Eagle a significant thrust-to-weight advantage, so in an attempt to close the performance gap Don and Dennis started their aircraft as the F-15 began its display. Parking their jet in the ‘last chance area’ (a hardstanding near the runway where technicians give aircraft a final pre-departure check), Don and Dennis ran up their engines to burn down the aircraft’s fuel load. By the time the F-15 landed they were down to around 2,500lbs of fuel, just enough for their display but, crucially, a figure that significantly narrowed the thrust-to-weight margins.
To allow the Iranian delegation to make a direct comparison, the display profile was the same for both aircraft: a max performance take-off into an Immelman turn and climb, a high-speed pass, low altitude high-G turns, a slow pass and a landing. Don and Dennis were keen to utilise the Tomcat’s variable-geometry wings to their full advantage – wings forward to highlight the aircraft’s manoeuvrability, and fully swept to demonstrate its impressive turn of acceleration. To conclude their display, the crew performed a touch-and-go into a vertical climb followed by a carrier-type landing, stopping the aircraft in a remarkably short distance. Both aircraft were flown exceptionally, but the Shah was sold on the F-14.
F-14A, serial 3-6054, after a post-overhaul FCF at Mehrabad in June 2018. M Motahari
This was good news for Grumman, which needed to sell the F-14 abroad. The US Congress was threatening to suspend funding for the program, an act which could spell the end for the company, however any overseas sale of such a potent and advanced aircraft would be subject to Presidential and Congressional approval. As the US government was keen to prevent the Soviets developing a strong foothold in the Middle East, President Richard Nixon and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger reportedly offered the Shah carte blanche to buy whatever US arms he desired, short of nuclear weapons, during a visit to Tehran in 1972.
With the sale approved, Iran became the first and only export customer for the Tomcat, with other close US allies instead being offered the F-5 family of fighters or the lightweight F-16. The first $300m order for 30 F-14s and 424 long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles was signed in January 1974. A few months later, this was expanded to 80 aircraft, along with 714 missiles, spare parts, engines and major infrastructural work at Khatami Air Base.
Deliveries and training
Despite a potential market of other friendly nations in the early 1970s – West Germany, Canada, Japan and even the UK – no export version of the Tomcat was ever developed. As a result, the aircraft which began arriving in Iran in 1976 were modified US Navy production aircraft, with classified avionics equipment removed. Prior to the delivery flights, the aircraft were given their distinctive Iranian camouflage paint scheme and US military markings. These markings were quickly removed when the aircraft landed, revealing the Iranian titles beneath.
F-14A, serial 3-6029 (former US Navy BuNo 160327), departing 8th TFB to take part in the mission exercise ‘Devotees of Velayat’s Territory-8’ on January 10, 2019. Keyvan Tavakkoli
Former US Navy pilot John R Chesire recalls the long journey from the Grumman facility in Long Island to Isfahan, Iran, and some interesting complications at their destination: “The ferry to Iran involved two legs. The first leg was from Calverton on Long Island to Torreón Air Force Base in Madrid, Spain. The second was from Madrid to Isfahan. It should have taken a couple of days. It didn’t.
“We needed to be ‘topped-off’ with fuel for most of the seven-hour flight, in case we had to divert to an emergency field. This meant at least six in-flight refueling events for each leg, plus there was some [inclement] weather conditions and the KC-135s difficult type of refueling hose to deal with.” (US Navy aircraft refuel using the probe and drogue method vs the Air Force’s boom and receptacle system).
After being stuck in Spain for two weeks thanks to tanker trouble, John was able to resume his journey out to the Gulf: “The flight to Iran was just as long as our flight had been to Madrid. Although we had another six KC-135 tankers en-route, this flight was near some unfriendly territory. We had been forewarned as to the possibility of trouble, and, sure enough, we were ‘locked-up’ with some serious Soviet fire-control radar at one point. Then later, flying past Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey, we looked in vain for the biblical Noah’s Ark.”
When John and his colleagues landed in Iran, their passports and documents were seized by the authorities and wouldn’t be returned until the end of a religious holiday. The American airmen spent around five days exploring parts of Iran and absorbing local culture, ironically just a couple of years before American diplomats would be held captive during the embassy hostage crisis.
F-14A Tomcat, serial 3-6054 (former US Navy Bureau Number 160352), armed with AIM-9Js and AIM-7Es taxiing after landing at 8th TFB during the exercise ‘Devotees of Velayat’s Territory-8’ on January 10, 2019. Majid Eslamdoust
Training for the initial cadre of Iranian pilots and RIOs (radar intercept officers) took place in the United States. Bizarrely, the US State Department contracted the US Air Force to conduct the training, despite the fact that the only US aviators with F-14 experience belonged to the Navy. Eventually the Navy seconded some of its instructors to the Air Force, no doubt after some inter-service rivalry. Instruction later moved to Khatami Air Base with the arrival of the first aircraft on Iranian soil and, by 1979, the Iranians had about 60 trained crews with another 50 in the pipeline. Training for technicians and engineers was conducted at the Pratt & Whitney and Hughes facilities in the United States.
While deliveries continued, waves of public unrest were starting to rock the Iranian monarchy. Calls for political reform and a need to narrow the difference in the social classes led to violent street protests. The result was the Iranian Revolution and eventually the overthrow and exile of the Shah. With anti-western sentiment strong among the revolution’s leaders, many arms deals with western nations were halted, including the F-14.
In the end, only one Tomcat never made it to Iran, with the 79th on order arriving just in time. Of the 714 AIM-54s ordered, only 274 were delivered, with the remainder embargoed or cancelled. For decades, Iran would continue to insist the US deliver the 80th and final Tomcat – as recently as 2010 it was still being requested, but its delivery was firmly rejected by the White House.
Three F-14As of 81st TFS (serials 3-6001, 3-6067 and 3-6071) perform a flypast during Iran’s Military Day parade on April 18, 2014. Shahram Sharifi
![Iranian Tomcat [Keyvan Tavakkoli]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/029.jpg "Iranian Tomcat [Keyvan Tavakkoli]")
![Iranian Tomcat [Danial Behmanesh]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/024_0.jpg "Iranian Tomcat [Danial Behmanesh]")
![Iranian Tomcat [M Motahari]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/010.jpg "Iranian Tomcat [M Motahari]")
![Iranian Tomcat [Keyvan Tavakkoli]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/069.jpg "Iranian Tomcat [Keyvan Tavakkoli]")
![Iranian Tomcat [Majid Eslamdoust]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/073.jpg "Iranian Tomcat [Majid Eslamdoust]")
![Iranian Tomcat [Shahram Sharifi]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/006.jpg "Iranian Tomcat [Shahram Sharifi]")
