The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a two-crew, variable wing-geometry, maritime air superiority fighter that served with the US Navy for 32 years and continues to serve with the IRIAF in Iran. The F-14 was the US Navy's frontline fighter from the 1970s to the mid-2000s. Over the course of its long service it also became one of the US Navy’s premier precision ground-attack platform and its lone airborne reconnaissance asset.
Noteworthy features of the Tomcat are its swing-wing configuration, two-man crew, and the powerful AN/AWG-9 Weapons Control System (WCS) and radar. The AWG-9 allows employment of the long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile, and the LANTIRN targeting pod allows precision ground strikes using laser-guided bombs. The F-14 Tomcat was present in several historic events that include the two Gulf of Sidra incidents, Operations Desert Storm Iraqi Freedom, the Yugoslavian conflict, and Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan. It was also immortalized in the iconic motion picture, Top Gun, and starred in several other feature films including The Final Countdown, Executive Decision, and others.
The Tomcat was also played a vital role in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, where is flew for the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. The Heatblur Simulations F-14A/B Tomcat aims to simulate this iconic aircraft as a high-fidelity module for DCS World. This module is the culmination of several years of research, coding and modelling.
Key features of the DCS: F-14 Tomcat include:
• Simulation of both the A and B models of the Tomcat. The A model will follow the B later during the Early Access period.
• A highly-detailed external model that has been built using laser scanning and photogrammetry taken of real, museum F-14 Tomcats.
• New models for several F-14 Tomcat payloads that includes the AIM-54 Phoenix and the LANTIRN pod.
• Incredibly-detailed and accurate 6-DOF (Degrees of Freedom) cockpit that was also built using photogrammetry from museum F-14 Tomcats.
• An advanced flight model that will continue to be tuned to provide the most accurate F-14 flight model simulation possible.
• Accurate aircraft systems simulation featuring:
o The Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS).
o The variable wing geometry, wing-sweep system.
o Detailed electrical, hydraulic, and fuel systems.
• Cooperative multiplayer that allows one player in the front seat to play as the pilot and one in the back seat to act as the Radar Intercept Officer, RIO.
• “JESTER” AI: A new, lifelike AI that fills the role of RIO when flying in single-player or multiplayer mods without a human RIO.
• A limited-functionality “Iceman” AI that pilots the aircraft in single-player mode when you are in the rear seat acting as the RIO.
• Both AIs feature an interactive interface with a comprehensive library of voice-acted phrases.
• Simulation of the AN/AWG-9 Weapons Control System (WCS), featuring:
o A custom model of the AN/AWG-9 radar featuring Pulse Search, Pulse Doppler Search, Range-While-Scan and Track-While-Scan modes as well as both pulse and pulse doppler Single Target Track (STT) modes.
o The ability to prepare and launch the AIM-54 Phoenix at single targets and at up to six targets simultaneously using the TWS mode.
o The Television Camera Set (TCS) allowing visual identification of targets in Beyond Visual Range (BVR) situations.
o The Link-4 datalink allowing reception of tracks from an E-2 AWACS or a surface unit.
• The complete F-14A and B Tomcat payload, including AIM-7, AIM-9 and AIM-54 air to air missiles, various unguided- and guided-bombs and rockets, and the M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon.
• A functional simulation of the LANTIRN target designator pod, allowing the RIO to guide laser-guided munitions dropped by the pilot or other aircraft (buddy-lasing).
• The Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS), allowing the player to fulfil the aerial photographic reconnaissance mission. *
• Fully-functional carrier interoperability that features Instrument Carrier Landing System (ICLS) and the Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS).
• Comprehensive digital manual, both as a PDF and as a continually-updated online manual.
• A complete set of interactive and voiced tutorials.
• Comprehensive campaigns for both the F-14A and F-14B Tomcat; one will be set in the Caucasus theatre and the other will be in the Persian Gulf theatre.
* The F-14A and the TARPS pod will follow later during the Early Access period and the tutorials and campaigns will be implemented and expanded during this early access as well.
