Carrier-based interceptor ·First flight 1970 · In service 1974
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat was the US Navy's swing-wing fleet-defence interceptor, its variable-geometry wings sweeping back for supersonic dash and forward for the carrier approach.
Armed with the long-reach AIM-54 Phoenix missile and a two-seat crew of pilot and radar-intercept officer, the Tomcat could kill targets a hundred miles away — and, thanks to Top Gun, became the most famous fighter of its era.
