SERVICE HISTORY
After a first flight in 1970, the F-14 entered frontline service with the US Navy in 1974. By 1983 it was the USN’S primary fleet defence fighter and had already proven its worth. In August 1981, two F-14s were engaged by two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22s. The F-14s evaded the attack and retaliated by shooting down both Su-22s. Tomcats would see active service in the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and over the Balkans. The type achieved multiple successes in air-to-air and later an air-to-ground role, with only a single aircraft being lost to enemy action. It was withdrawn from US service in 2006.
The Tomcat also saw extensive combat during the Iran-iraq War (1980-88) – the Shah of Iran had received 79 Tomcats before the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Tomcats achieved an excellent kill-to-loss ratio in the subsequent war with Iraq and, despite being starved of spare parts, small numbers remain in Iranian service today.