The Ultimate Tomcat! Super Tomcat 21 and 22 | Inspired from the #F106 Delta Dart & F-18 HARV

let's take a look at how the Tomcat could have become the super tomcat 21 and what its final evolution may have looked like in 2006 the F-14 Tomcat was retired officially serving 32 years to the day from September 22nd 1974 to September 22nd 2006. there were several flights following September 22nd but these were mostly fairy flights we may never again see an aircraft like the Tomcat iconic beautiful and Unforgettable however what if things had turned out differently what if the Tomcat had continued to evolve and receive upgrades it turns out that as early as 1987 while the f-14d super tomcat was being developed Grumman was already working on the next generation of Tomcats using the f-14d as a starting point the next F-14 in grumman's planned succession line was to be the quick strike Tomcat this version would have featured air-to-surface missiles improved radar modes and would have capitalized on f-14d a6f and f-15e commonality the quick strike Tomcat would have essentially provided the Navy with Maritime f-15e strike capabilities all while maintaining the f-14ds air superiority features and while the quick strike Tomcat would add features to the already existing f-14d it was essentially the same airframe the next big step in the Tomcats Evolution was to be the st-21 or Super Tomcat 21st century using data and Lessons Learned From incredible research aircraft such as the F-18 Harve which used thrust factoring and the McDonnell Douglas F-15 stol MTD contributed to some of the planned features found on the st-21 if you'd like to learn more about these two test airframes I'll leave video links in the description below plan for the mid to late 90s and following the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop in 1994 the super tomcat 21 was to feature an upgraded gef-11029 engine which would have allowed the Tomcat to Super cruise at Mach 1.3 along with an upgraded radar room for more fuel improved control surfaces and potentially even thrust Factory nozzles the st-21 was gruma's response to the advanced tactical fighter or ATF competition which pitted the yf-22 against the yf-23 one of the more prominent features of the super tomcat 21 was its implementation of Leading Edge extensions or Lex a technology that was studied extensively on northrop's F5 series of aircraft culminating in the F-18 Hornet in fact The Lex additions to the proposed st-21 somewhat resembled those found in the Super Hornet which was in development around the same time the sc21 slacks along with refined control surfaces would have improved takeoffs Lower Landing speeds and increased the f-14's high alpha performance additionally the thrust factoring GE f-110s would have further improved maneuverability and the larger fuel area would have given the Tomcat even more loiter time and range if you can imagine a super cruising F-14 with thrust vectoring then you have the sc21 as amazing as this sounds Grumman had further plans for the Tomcat following the introduction of a super tomcat was to be the attack Super Tomcat 21 or ast-21 the ast-21 was to have even more fuel capacity further improved controlled surfaces and an actively electronically scanned array or aesa radar this would have brought the Tomcat into fourth plus generation technology and made a formidable fighter even more effective by incorporating strike rolls into its capabilities along with these proposed Roman upgrades I have taken things a step further and applied what we know today about the advanced tactical fighter F-22 and the joint strikefinder F-35 and apply them to the Tomcat however before we get to the tomcat's final form let's take a look at another interesting variant what if I told you the Air Force almost had Tomcats all the way back in 1972 Grumman proposed to the USAF Air Defense command a version of the F-14 Tomcat as an Interceptor Grumman went so far as to create a mock-up in a response to an Air Force proposal which would have replaced the convair f-106 Delta Dart as an aerospace Defense command Interceptor during the 1970s this photo was taken at the Grumman Calverton test facility in the summer of 1972. notice the Phoenix missiles along with the simulated Buzz Code and Aerospace Defense command Livery and emblem on the tail sadly this program was terminated in April of 1974. another what could have been for the Tomcat all right this is it the ultimate what if final version of the Tomcat as we have seen Grumman planned the super tomcat 21 which added many features to the amazing F-14 let's build on that and incorporate 5th generation Technologies here it is the super tomcat 22. this F-14 makes use of thrust factoring GE f-110s radar absorbing materials or Ram Coatings to reduce radar signatures and improve golden canopy which is coated with a thin layer of indium tin oxide or Ito that acts like an em Shield to maintain stealth characteristics air intakes that are designed to hide the turbine fan blades from radar the an apg-81 an actively electronically scanned array or aesa radar which is an evolution of the f-22's anapg-77 the anapg81 radar includes air-to-air modes found on the F-22 along with Advanced air-to-ground modes that utilize high resolution mapping the ability to track multiple ground targets along with electronic warfare capabilities additionally an integrated sensor platform which provides both forward-looking infrared or FLIR an infrared search and tracker irst functionality known as the electro Optical targeting system or elts this lightweight system further enhances the pilot situational awareness and is housed in a stealthy low drag housing with a sapphire window the elts integrates via a high-speed fiber optic interface into the st-22's integrated Central Computer we've got Stell we've got super cruise and we've got the sensors what about the weapons we've saved the best for last the Super Tomcat 22 incorporates internal weapons Bays along with conventional hardpoints found on all Tomcats for non-stealthy Missions the Super Tomcat 22 makes use of a main internal weapons Bay which can house four long-range air-to-air missiles or air-to-ground Ordnance secondary Bays can be found along the sides of the intakes and can each house an aim 9x Sidewinder or other short range infrared heat-seeking missiles the st-22's backseat crew member Oreo can work as an Airborne Forward Air controller or as a drone controller flying several fighter-sized loyal wingman combat drones making the st-22a force multiplier on the battlefield all of this combined with long loiter times and range make the st-22 a formidable platform and finally the st-22 would make use of composite materials which would help reduce weight extend range and lower maintenance costs what do you think would the super tomcat 21 have been a viable option for the Navy what would you add to the st-22 or what changes would you make let me know in the comments below thanks for joining me on this thought experiment Grumman had some incredible plans for the tomcat and it's interesting to look back on what could have been with this legendary airframe the Tomcats range speed and loiter times are certainly missed these days if you love Aviation and have a curiosity and passion for learning about current historical and conceptual aircraft like the sc22 then go ahead and subscribe to this channel I will work hard to bring you content that you care about and encourage conversations with fellow enthusiasts pilots maintainers and engineers I'd like to give a quick shout out to the 3D artists who helped create these stunning Tomcat models you can check them out at egpjet3d I'll leave a link to his Twitter in the description below and finally I want to thank my patreon to directly support this channel I'm working on producing merch rewards for my supporters if you'd like to become a patron I'll leave a link in the description below stay safe and remember anytime baby see you next time

Channel: PilotPhotog

Views: 909,842

Keywords: 5th generation, Air Defense Command, Air Force, Convair, Delta Dart, Experimental, F-15 Active, F-18 HARV, F106, F14, HARV, Interceptor, National Security, Navy, Tomcat, US Navy, USAF, aesa, airplane, ast21, avgeek, aviation, aviator, concept, dcs f-14, f-14 tomcat, f-15 eagle stol/mtd, f-21, f14トムキャット, f14톰캣, f21, fly, flying, grumman f-14 tomcat, photography, pilot, pilotphotog, plane, planes, quick strike, stealth, super tomcat 21, thrust vectoring, トムキャット

Id: XfxVneeVyKM

Length: 8min 48sec (528 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 07 2021