![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-F-14-Tomcats-6.jpg)
Despite Western sanctions and the advancement of technology on the battlefield, Iran has impressively sustained and enhanced its fleet of F-14 Tomcats.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/f14_iranian_0006.jpg)
Initially procured before the 1979 Islamic Revolution to counter the Soviet threat, these fighters still grace the Iranian skies, albeit with dwindling next-generation capabilities.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-F-14-Tomcats-5.jpg)
The story of Iran’s F-14s reads like a script from a Cold War-era spy novel. When the Shah of Iran ordered 79 Tomcats in the mid-1970s, he likely did not envision the aircraft outliving his reign and becoming a symbol of Iranian defiance.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/f14_iranian_0002-1.jpg)
However, the Islamic Republic chose to keep the fleet after the revolution, and many pilots stayed to continue flying these aircraft.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-F-14-Tomcats-3.jpg)
Throughout the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the F-14s, utilizing their advanced radar and Phoenix missiles, instilled fear in enemy pilots, frequently prompting them to retreat instead of confronting.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-F-14-Tomcats-2.jpg)
Over time, Iran has managed to keep these old interceptors flying by using a mix of stored parts, reverse engineering, and acquiring components through black markets.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-F-14-Tomcats-1-1.jpg)
The US Navy, once a prime operator of the F-14, retired the aircraft in 2006, scrapping the mothballed fleet by 2009 to prevent parts from leaking to Iran.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/f14_iranian_0030.jpg)
Undeterred, Iran has produced its own spare parts and initiated upgrades under project BABAIEE, aiming to restore over half of its Tomcat fleet to operational status.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-F-14-Tomcats.jpg)
Perhaps the most remarkable of these adaptations has been the refitting of surface-to-air missiles as air-to-air variants, and later, the development of an indigenous version of the Phoenix, the Fakour-90.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1081px-A_formation_of_Iranian_Tomcats_in_flight.jpg)
Despite these efforts, however, these missiles and the radars of the F-14s—allegedly upgraded with Iranian components—may not match the capabilities of the latest technology employed by potential adversaries.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iranian_f-14.jpg)
These stories of cleverness and boldness occasionally come to light, with pictures appearing on social media showing stripped-down Tomcats receiving extensive enhancements and renovations.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iranian_AF_F-14_Tomcat_landing_at_Mehrabad.jpg)
However, these insights provoke as much curiosity as they provide clarity on the practicality of upkeeping such aircraft amidst harsh sanctions.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1007px-Jalil_Z.jpg)
Iran’s ability to sustain its F-14 fleet serves as a testament to its resourcefulness and determination to maintain a semblance of air superiority, however dated the machinery.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/911px-Iranian_F-14_Pilots.jpg)
However, as modern warfare progresses, Iran’s F-14s, equipped with outdated systems and domestic adjustments, could be surpassed by newer, network-focused fighter jets and weapon systems.
![](https://gallery.trendydigests.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/f14_iranian_0018-1.jpg)
This raises doubts about their actual effectiveness, especially when facing foes such as the US, which have sophisticated radars and air-to-air missiles tailored for contemporary network-centric warfare.
Relevant articles:
– [2.0] Iranian Tomcats / Tomcat Improvements, AirVectors
– F-14 Tomcat: Outgunned MiG-25s, MiG-21s In 1980s, How Is Iran ‘Keeping Alive’ Its US-Origin Fighters?, EurAsian Times, Jan 13, 2024
– Can Iran’s F-14A Upgrades Keep the Tomcat Flying?, The National Interest, Dec 31, 2021