Iran's F-14 Tomcats are the last of their kind. Israel's been blowing some of them up.
Israel, however, has been blowing some of them up lately as it targets Iran's military capabilities and nuclear and missile programs.
In the 1986 "Top Gun" film, Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by actor Tom Cruise, buzzes the tower, launches off aircraft carriers, and dogfights hostile MiGs in an F-14. And in the 2022 sequel, the jet returns for an intense fight against advanced enemy jets.
Hollywood hype for the aircraft aside, the Tomcat, an air superiority fighter made by US aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman, is a celebrated combat aircraft within the Navy. First introduced in the 1970s, it was a highly capable aircraft that saw use in conflicts from Vietnam to the Middle East.
The US Navy retired the last of its F-14s in 2006 following the introduction of Boeing's carrier-based F/A-18 Super Hornet, a multi-role aircraft considered easier to maintain.
Once allies, the US sold F-14s to Iran in the mid-1970s, before revolution upended relations and support. Iran has managed to keep some operational despite US sanctions and attempts to stop Iran from obtaining parts.
These jets are now coming under fire, though. On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces shared footage of a strike on two F-14s at an airport in Tehran.
🛫 Strike on two F-14 fighter jets that were located at an airport in Tehran. These jets were intended to intercept Israeli aircraft.
❌ Thwarted a UAV launch attempt toward Israel.
🎯 Eliminated a launch cell minutes before launch… pic.twitter.com/y1gY7oBz99
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 16, 2025
Just how many Iran F-14s Iran has left is unclear, though the fleet is believed to be fairly limited.
The jets hit by Israel appear to have been unflyable, but their parts may have been key to keeping Iran's remaining ones in the sky. Canibalization of parts is not uncommon when logistics and supply lines are strained.
An iconic American jet
Richard Aboulafia, an aviation expert and the managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, told Business Insider that when the F-14 was introduced, it was "incredibly cutting edge and held numerous records for years to come."
Iran's jets, he said, are "kind of a time capsule." Aboulafia characterized them as "ghosts of the Cold War."
The US wanted interceptor aircraft that could counter the Soviet Union's long-range bombers and the increasing threat of long-range missiles. That need gave birth to the F-14, built to replace the F-4 Phantom II made by McDonnell Douglas.
The new jet came with an advanced radar, the ability to track multiple targets, and adjustable wings.
The Tomcat was also the only aircraft at the time that could carry the AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missile, which could hit targets at 100 nautical miles, far beyond visual range. Being able to make long-range air-to-air kills was critical at a time when the US needed to protect aircraft carriers from bombers.
The US first deployed the F-14 during Operation Frequent Wind, flying combat air patrols during the evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The Tomcat scored its first combat kills with the US Navy in 1981 against Libyan Su-22s. It conducted air defense missions during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The fighter later saw more combat in Iraq and Afghanistan as well.
The jet's advanced features and use in some of the US's most important campaigns makes them a key piece of US military aviation history. The "Top Gun" films then elevated the plane in popular culture.
The US Tomcats that didn't last
The Tomcats were impressive planes, but the F-14s faced problems with expensive spare parts and high maintenance needs. The Navy also wanted a more versatile aircraft.
The Super Hornet that succeeded the Tomcat was intended to bring improved features, reduced maintenance load, and the ability to execute air-to-ground strikes, as well as engage in air-to-air combat.
The US Navy had many of the jets scrapped, but it has some inoperable models on display at Florida's National Naval Aviation Museum and New York's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
The end of the US F-14 program left Iran as the only nation that had them in service. The US went out of its way to cripple Iran's F-14 program, destroying aircraft, implementing sanctions, and choking off the supply of F-14 parts that it needed to keep the jets flying.
Iran's F-14s
Iran acquired a total of 79 F-14 Tomcats from the US before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, so Iran had the jets when the Iran-Iraq War started in 1980, with Iran using them in pursuit of air superiority and for air defense. Iran said its F-14s shot down more than 100 Iraqi aircraft.
When the US cut off support and spare parts for Iran's F-14s. Iran developed its own maintenance capabilities and found black market solutions, but Iran's F-14 numbers dwindled as time went on.
Aboulafia said that Iran uses the jets almost as Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, which help air forces with surveillance and command and control, "because of the power of that radar." He called it "the best tool they had to see aerial threats."
Iran does not have a strong air force, with its force made up of obsolete Western, Soviet, and Chinese aircraft.
The Tomcat "was really the only thing that Iranians could have flown to have threatened some of the Israeli airstrikes," retired US Army Maj. Gen. Gordon "Skip" Davis, the former deputy assistant secretary-general for NATO's defense-investment division, told Business Insider. "Not really the F-35s, but the F-15s," he said. "And so I think it was a very, to me, brilliant move to focus on them early on."
With limited airpower, Iran is heavily dependent on ground-based air defenses, which the Israelis are also systematically wiping out.
Israel says that it has achieved air superiority over Iran, meaning that Iran's ability to stop Israel in its airspace is limited. Israel flies advanced jets like its unique F-35Is. Iran said earlier this year that it had purchased Russian-made Sukhoi-35 fighter jets, but when, and if, those could arrive is unclear.
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