September 22nd, 2006
A moment of silence for the F-14, which the U.S. Navy retired today in Virginia. The Skystriker, er, um, I mean Tomcat, was a tactical fighter jet meant to protect carriers from Soviet bombers. And only few other aircraft shared its swept-wing design (I can only think of the F-111). One of the more impressive stats about the F-14 Sky–I mean Tomcat, was its ability to track 24 targets simultaneously. This especially became useful when, in 1986, a squadron of MiG-28s confronted several F-14s over the Indian Ocean, leading to one of the only occasions where the United States actually engaged in air combat with the Soviet Union. Luckily, our side won though the Soviets denied the entire episode.
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