By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
(Washington DC) Iran’s ability to keep flying US-built F-14s may be as mysterious as it is potentially concerning to the Pentagon, given that the Tomcat has extremely threatening F-22-like speed. While some number of maintained, or even upgraded F-14s may not be able to truly rival a large contingent of US and European F-35s, the continued presence of Iranian F-14s does seem to present a credible threat.
The operative question is, how many F-14s does Iran have? What kind of conditions are they in? On the surface, it does not seem as though Iran’s industrial base and supply chain would be sufficient to maintain 1980s-era F-14 Tomcats, yet there may be some mysterious reason why this is possible. Perhaps Iran did homework on US Navy and Air Force service life extension programs? Perhaps some of the F-14 electronics can be upgraded without specific, narrowly configured technical parameters. The reasons for continued Iranian F-14 functionality do seem a bit puzzling, as the Iranian Air Force is not likely to have collaborative working relationships with many Western allies now operating US-built 4th-generation aircraft. One cannot help but speculate that perhaps there has been some kind of surreptitious supply chain or unanticipated similarities between Iran’s existing fleet of fighter jets and parts needed for the F-14.
However, even if Iran is using enterprising methods of maintaining the fuselages of the F-14s and upgrading the electronics, weapons and computing, there are still real limits to just how long a decades-old airframe can remain viable. The US Navy F/A-18 and US Air Force F-16 have been relying upon Service Life Extension Plans (SLEP) to extend flight hours of the aircraft by thousands of hours beyond what was originally intended for the aircraft. Some structural reinforcements, coupled with software upgrades and engine sustainment may be able to keep the Iranian F-14s functional in the short term, however it would seem extremely unlikely that Iran could keep them relevant very much longer. Essentially, even if Iran has found a method of maintaining the F-14s, they are bound to hit a wall or simple limit in terms of how much longer they can fly and how much more they can be upgraded.
Ultimate Limit for F-14?
Eventually, every airframe and electronic or technical infrastructure will reach a breaking point and no longer be upgradeable. There are clearly built-in limits to how much an 1980s-platform can be modernized as it may lack the interfaces and technical standards to integrate with modern technologies. This means the aircraft will essentially hit a “ceiling” wherein it simply cannot improve performance, and the aircraft’s lack of stealth puts it at a clear and decisive disadvantage when compared with existing 5th-generation aircraft.
Even given these limits, the continued presence of Iranian F-14s does present a pressing and credible threat to the region, particularly Israel, depending upon the number of operational F-35 variants Israel has. However, while an F-35 is undoubtedly superior in many respects to an F-14, it is actually not as fast. With a listed speed of Mach 2.3, the F-14 is considerably faster than the F-35 which is stated to reach max speeds of Mach 1.6. This means that an F-35 would likely need to use its advanced long-range sensors and next-generation weapons and weapons guidance to prevail in an engagement with Iranian F-14s. An F-35 might wish to avoid a dog-fight or closer-in air-to-air combat, and its advanced technologies suggest it might not have to. With stealth, upgraded software and sensors and a new generation of weapons, an F-35 could most likely destroy an F-14 from standoff ranges where it is not itself detected.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
