The need for a long-range air fighter by the US Navy came about with the cancellation of General Dynamics' F-111B in 1968. The F-111 was initially designed as a fighter-bomber for the Air Force, and as a long-range interceptor for the Navy. The Navy eventually stopped usage of the plane, as they found the plane to be too heavy for carrier use.

The F-14 is built by Grumman Aerospace Corporation, a legendary name for decades in the manufacturing of airplanes, especially for the US Navy. The F-14A, a carrier-based supersonic twin-engine twin-place interceptor fighter, first appeared in production for the Navy in early 1972 and saw combat duty at the end of Vietnam in 1975. Grumman designed the plane with the capabilities of the F-111B and the McDonnell F-4 Phantom in mind, and set out to improve on those existing planes. Three attributes that Grumman focused on were air superiority, ability to excel as an escort fighter, and the ability to be a carrier launched interceptor. In addition to the pilot, the plane requires a second person, the radar intercept officer. This allows for the advanced radar and avionics on board. Over the next decade, the Navy replaced all of their F-4 Phantoms with the F-14 Tomcat. Variants of the F-14 Tomcat have seen service all over the world. In 1995 the F-14 Tomcat served in Bosnia while in 2004 it served in Iraq .

The F-14D is the last variant produced. (There was no F-14C. A-6 Intruders were built instead.) This variant first appeared in 1988 and included an improved radar and avionics systems compared to the F-14B..

Armament includes one 20mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon. Air-to-Air Missiles include the AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder and the AIM-54 Phoenix.

The AIM-7 Sparrow, a radar-guided air-to-air missile with a high explosive warhead, was initially used in Vietnam . The current variant, AIM-7M, is used on the Navy F-14, Navy and Marine F/A-18s, as well as the Air Force F-15 and F-16s. Weighing 500 pounds each, usually 2 Sparrows are deployed on a F-14 Tomcat.

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range missile that uses a heat-seeking (infrared) guidance system. The Tomcats carry a total of four AIM-9 Sidewinders.

The AIM-54 Phoenix's primary function is as a long-range air-launched air intercept missile. The Tomcat carries us to six missiles, as the radar guidance system is designed for simultaneous multiple target capabilities.

An addition to the above armaments, many of the F-14Ds have also been modified with Air-to-Ground Missiles

Of the 556 F-14As built, the majority of them have been retired and replaced by the F/A-18E/F Hornet. The F-14Bs are to be retired in 2007, while the F-14D will be replaced by 2008.

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