The F-14 Tomcat is clearly a fighter based on Cold War needs and designs. It is also clearly not stealth like the F-22, F-35, or upcoming NGAD platform. And yet, the public just can't get enough of this old fighter jet. Why is that exactly? Why are we so fascinated by it?
The Bombcats flew missions against Yugoslavia in 1999 and later over Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2000s, the U.S. Navy retired the last F-14 from service in 2006.
In 1991, the crew from the Ghost Riders squadron had to make an emergency landing when the nose cone came off of the F-14 they were flying due to a landing mechanism failure.