The interceptors have come in close contact with some very mysterious aircraft.
Here s What You Need to Know: Rumors abound that the Air Force and CIA operate a stealthy new drone that has not been disclosed to the public.
Iran is the only other country besides the United States to operate arguably history’s most powerful interceptor aircraft, the F-14 Tomcat. And the Islamic republic has worked the twin-engine, swing-wing fighters
hard.
The F-14s played a major role in Iran’s war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988. Iranian Tomcat pilots were the only ones to successfully employ the F-14’s long-range, heavyweight AIM-54 Phoenix missile to shoot down enemy planes.
The American-made F-14 Tomcat dominated the sky during the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988.
Here s What You Need to Know: The F-14 was not to be trifled with.
Iran’s force of American-made F-14 Tomcat interceptors dominated the sky during the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988. F-14s reportedly downed more than 160 Iraqi planes.
Journalist Kash Ryan in his book
Air Combat Memoirs of the Iranian Air Force Pilots compiled first-hand accounts of some of these aerial battles, including one by F-14 radar intercept officer Capt. Parviz Moradi.
“Departing from 8th [Tactical Fighter Base] Isfahan as Dragon 5 flight piloted by then-major Amir Aslani to perform the day’s [combat air patrol] over oil facilities near Kharg Island, we were vectored by ground based radar controllers to sweep the skies in anticipation of enemy intruders,” Moradi told Ryan.
Bombcats: How the F-14 Tomcat Transformed into a Strike Aircraft
Operations in former Yugoslavia and the Gulf showed the need for a heavy strike aircraft in the Navy s arsenal. But how effective could the F-14 be in that role?
Here s What You Need to Remember: The Navy’s retirement of the A-6 Intruders left a small capability gap until the new F/A-18E/F Super Hornets entered service, and the F-14 could carry more bombs than the new F/A-18A/C Hornet.
The F-14 Tomcat was designed to defend the U.S. Navy’s fleets from practically every airborne threat. While it packed long range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles for defense against bombers carrying standoff missiles, it was no slouch in a dogfight either, although early versions were held back by its TF30 engines in that arena.
How Iran Destroyed Iraq’s Navy in a Single Battle
Eight years later, the Iranian Navy itself saw much of its own combat strength destroyed by the U.S. Navy’s Operation Praying Mantis.
Here s What You Need To Remember: In exchange for sinking the
Paykan, the Iraqi Navy lost five Osa missile boats and four P-6 torpedo boats roughly 80% of its strength. It would play little role for the remainder of the war, leaving it up to the Iraqi Air Force to launch attacks on Iranian shipping.
On September 22, 1980 Saddam Hussein launched Iraq into a full-scale invasion of Iran hoping to capitalize on Iran’s instability due to the Iranian Revolution.
Washington will have to compete to close the AI-powered, 5th gen jet fighter gap.
China’s move to introduce a two-seat variant of its J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighter raises what could be called one of the defining discussions or debates of our time, regarding the scope, utility, or limits of artificial intelligence.
Would an extra pilot, which might add weight and additional external contours to the aircraft, therefore potentially reducing the stealth properties of the jet, offer tactical advantages which advanced computing technologies cannot?
Artificial-intelligence-enabled autonomy, computer processing speeds and their attendant ability to organize and analyze data in real time have all progressed so quickly that some wonder about the extent to which most combat aircraft may have unmanned capabilities. So much has already been said about the emerging Air Force sixth-generation fighter, which will reportedly incorporate unmanned capability. As far back as several years