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IIAF F-14 Tomcat Photo Album Last Updated: 26 December, 2005 The most spectacular acquisitions of IIAF were the F-14A (Tomcats). At the time this was the latest western jet fighter, just being inroduced into the US armed forces, and the value of this one sale was said to be $ 1850 milion. This deal was vital for the survival of the Grumman Corporation. The F-14A wing-wing Tomcat fighters were equipped with Phoenix missiles, capable of locating and destroying six targets simultaneously from a range of fifty miles or more. The ultrasophisticated Phoenix AAM system was first operationally tested in Iran, when F-14 Tomcat aircraft equipped with Phoenix radar picked up Soviet-piloted MIG-25 Foxbats overflying Iranian air space at 65,000 feet and over Mach 2. Throughout the 1970s, Iran purchased sophisticated aircraft for its air force. The acquisition of 80 F-14A Tomcat fighters added to F-5 and F-4 fighters, gave Iran a strong defensive and a potential offensive capability. These are the first block of 50 F-14A's that were delivered to the Imperial Iranian Air force (IIAF). After the revolution they were assigned to the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF), but kept the same serials. The first serial is the U.S. Navy BuNo (as the aircraft were sold under a FMS agreement), the second the Iranian serial. Click on each page will open a new page:
We dont know how many of these aircraft are operational today. According to some reports, the last aircraft of the IIAF order, never made it to Iran due to the Islamic Revolution. After several years in storage (due to arguements over ownership) it was reworked and entered U.S Navy service. It was reported too that after the Islamic revolution and during the 8 years war with Iraq, Soviet Union taken two Tomcats from Iran.
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