F-14 AT 50: Celebrating the Tomcat

Fifty years ago, on December 21, 1970, the first Grumman F-14 Tomcat twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter graced the skies for its inaugural flight. Thanks in part to this legendary aircraft, Maverick and Goose became household names overnight, but as we trace its development and history, we shall discover that the venerable F-14 is far more than just a movie star.

Since World War One, the aircraft carrier has been the United States’ go-to tool for force projection. As naval aviation technology has advanced, the size of naval aircraft has increased, leading in turn to larger, more vulnerable carriers. By the 1960s Soviet long-range bombers and cruise missiles posed a serious threat to America’s flat tops, requiring a fleet defense fighter with a detection and engagement range greater than the current mainstay, the F-4 Phantom II.

Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, aspired to reduce the development and procurement costs of defense programs by adapting single platforms fo…