Operator

Pentagon halts sale of F-14 parts - Yahoo! News

Seems like a smart idea if you feel as if Iran *could* be a potential adversary.

Jimmy

Wow, that seems kind of like common sense. In light of the unique situation of the F-14 (now only in service with an adversary) I'd have expected a fairly comprehensive look at what was safe to sell and what could be dangerous to sell.

Deioces

in all honesty it wouldnt really matter, Air superiority belongs to the u.s. no matter what aircraft Iran has.

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SnowLeopard

Still, one shouldn't make it any easier for them. The above statement might be okay if it meant Iran 0, US (whatever number) but if US lives are lost because their aircraft can fly because of sold surplus parts, even if air superiority is achieved, that is rather unacceptable.

Further, a "reasonable" person might lean to not going to war if his air force can't fly but might lean to going to war if they can.

Don't make it any easier for them.
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("Well, baseball fan Marvin Garderner won't be going to any more games. Yes, Marvin bought it while walking in on a liquor store hold up. Remember that score, folks, liquor store 1, Marvin 0."--(wtte), tv comedy skit on what happens when you let sports deliver the main tv news)

nutter

Surely by now, after being under arms embargoes for most of the years since they purchased F14s, Iran has by now developed means of either developing or procuring replacements from alternate sources?

highsea

Last I heard, there were only a small handful of F-14's still serviceable in Iran- something like 8 frames, IIRC. It's difficult to get good information.

As long as we are storing F-14's at AMARC, we should warehouse the spares also.

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My baby called me up. She said- Why don't you ever take me out? Pick me up in your brand new car....You shake the short change from the old fruit jar...

Archer

ACIG says there are 50 odd airframes serviceable and ready, of which half are on the flightline, and the rest were kept in reserve to conserve life etc. But by now, it is anticiapated that they'd all have been made ready.

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Karmani Vyapurutham Dhanuhu

My bow is stretched for its task

highsea

I consider ACIG to be a fairly good source, but I don't buy the 50 frames claim for one second. Those wing boxes are shot to hell, the underside skins are shot- who knows how the engines are doing, but it can't be that great.

Even if you don't use them they still deteriorate- seals dry out, insulations get brittle, hydraulics get weak, the plexi gets hazed, etc.

It's amazing they have managed to keep them going as long as they have, but those cats are tired.

wabpilot

From my experience with the F-14 it takes a considerable amount of maintenance time, about 15-20 man hours per flight hour to keep the airframes in service. That does not include periodic trips to the NADEP for heavy maintenance. None of the Iranian aircraft have seen a NADEP. 50 of 70 serviceable? Doubtful. 50 of 70 in some sort of intact storage is more likely.

An Iranian F-14's chances against a proficient F-18 crew? Not good. Death will come quickly. Chances agains a wall of eagles? None. It's just a membership drive for the Green Crescent Mother's Club.

highsea

You know, if we were devious, we would continue putting F-14 parts on the surplus market, knowing that they were destined for Iran.

Lots and lots of parts, that are almost up to spec. Seriously, are they going to X-ray and mag-particle test every single part? Do they really know the correct material and heat treat specs?

We could make a bundle selling defective parts, and further degrade their fleet in the process.

Jimmy

In that case, whatever we sell them is likely to still be in better shape than most of what they already have.

Archer

Well, they could have stockpiled parts, reverse engineered others and brought them upto spec, and surely, when we speak of storage., those airframes would get the occasional turn over to keep them in fiddle. You mentioned airframe structures- I think they could manage those, its the engine parts, and perhaps AWG-9 components, that they'd be careful not to expend.

Acc. to ACIG, the US tracked some 20 odd F-14s flying, and Tom Cooper states that the rest were stored, but would have now been brought online. Manpower wouldnt be the Iranians worry- spares would, the key thing- which I guess nobody apart from them knows- is how many of the spares have they been able to reverse engineer.


Against both, wouldnt the AWG-9, Phoenix combo have the edge, provided the Iranians have modified them sufficiently, so as to not have them totally vulnerable to US ECM.

Archer

Total WonKerr: Iran On Centrifuges




Paul Kerr:The problem is that the centrifuges exploded last spring. And that event is mentioned as part of a larger discussion which clearly characterizes the enrichment program as advancing rapidly.

Here’s what the report, which appeared in Ayande-ye Now 6 January, said:

Jimmy

Unlikely. First of all, we've tested the hell out of every system on that jet. I have no doubt at all that we know how to defeat that radar/missile combination. Its unlikely many of their AIM-54A missiles or any homegrown copies will even launch...they're a little past their shelf life (if I had to guess I'd say 10 years or more). An ancient Phoenix is probably not a serious threat at super-long range anymore, especailly not against a maneuverable target like an F/A-18. A modern Hornet or anything else we have can probably jam the hell out of it, then feed it AMRAAMs.

To modify it, they'll basically be trying to redesign it on the fly. Radar frequencies are tricky...you cant just dial them up or down and expect the thing to still work.

highsea

At least at first glance, lol.

I know a few tricks....