f14

[edit] Adding ground attack capability

An F-14D from VF-213 over Iraq on last Tomcat deployment with LANTIRN pod on starboard glovevane station and LGB underneath fuselage.In the 1990s, with the pending retirement of the A-6 Intruder, the F-14 air-to-ground program was resurrected. The first experiments with bombs were carried out in the late 1980s. However, the main task of the F-14 was air defense in Operation Desert Storm, so most air-to-ground missions were left to A-7 and F/A-18 squadrons. The F-14 was cleared operationally to drop basic iron bombs in 1992. To provide for use of precision munitions, the remaining F-14As and F-14Bs underwent an upgrade program. The upgrade included new digital avionics systems, improved cockpit displays, structural improvements and improved defensive systems. The upgraded fighters had avionics approximately comparable to the F-14Ds and were designated F-14A (Upgrade) and F-14B (Upgrade), respectively.[8]

By 1994 Grumman and the Navy were proposing ambitious plans for Tomcat upgrades to plug that gap between the retirement of the A-6 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet entering service, but Congress balked. The upgrades were priced in the billions, a bit much for an interim solution, and they would take too long to implement to meet the gap.[8] The solution finally devised was an inexpensive and quick upgrade, with fit of the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) targeting pod system that provided the F-14 with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera for night operations and a laser target designator to direct laser guided bombs (LGB).[12]

Although LANTIRN is traditionally a two-pod system, with an AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod with terrain-following radar and a wide-angle FLIR, along with an AN/AAQ-14 targeting pod with a steerable FLIR and a laser target designator, the decision was made to only use the targeting pod. The Tomcat's LANTIRN targeting pod featured some improvements over its baseline configuration, most significantly a Global Positioning System / Inertial Navigation System (GPS-INS) capability that allowed a Tomcat to find its own location at any time. The pod was carried on the right wing glove pylon.[12]


An F-14D from VF-31, makes a transonic, low-level fly-by with LANTIRN pod on starboard glovevane station.Fit of the LANTIRN pod didn't require any updates to the F-14's own system software, which would have substantially increased the time and expense of the upgrade. It did require that the Tomcat have the MIL-STD-1553B bus, fitted standard to the F-14D and on upgraded F-14A/Bs. The RIO received pod imagery on his display and guided LGBs using a new hand controller. Initially the hand controller replaced the RIO's TARPS control panel, meaning a Tomcat configured for LANTIRN couldn't carry TARPS and the reverse, but eventually a workaround was developed that allowed a Tomcat to carry LANTIRN or TARPS as needed.[12] An upgraded LANTIRN named "LANTIRN 40K" with 40K laser allowing improved operation up to 40,000 feet (12,200 m) was introduced into service in 2001.[12]

Tomcats also added the ability to carry the GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) in 2003, giving it the option of a variety of LGB and GPS-guided weapons.[13] Some F-14Ds were upgraded in 2005 with a ROVER III downlink, a system transmits real-time images from the aircraft's sensors to the laptop of Forward Air Controller (FAC) on the ground.[14]