The venerable naval fighter jet, the Grumman
F-14 Tomcat, has been put out to pasture. Entering service in 1974, its
unique swing-wing design allowed this huge and very heavy fighter to take off
from tiny carrier decks. The designers of this plane packet it with absolutely
everything, from an extremely powerful Hughes radar, a 20mm cannon, advanced
avionics, and Phoenix, Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles. The last Tomcat will
leave service and make its final
landing at the Virginia Aviation Museum on September 28.

The Tomcat was never really battle-tested. Its most famous encounter came in
the Gulf of Sidra, where it splashed a couple of hopelessly outclassed Su-22 jets
of the Libyan air force in 1981.

The Tomcat has been replaced by the cheaper and more flexible F/A-18 Hornet.
"The
aging Tomcat requires 40 or more hours of maintenance for a single hour
of flight, says Seth, executive officer for the "Tomcatters" of Fighter
Squadron 31. The Super Hornet requires less than half that maintenance time."

The U.S. naval mission is in excellent hands with the Hornet. But, damn, does
any plane look cooler than the F-14?