Grumman F-14 Tomcat variant
Grumman F-14 Tomcat F-14A Plus / F-14B
The Tomcat's first major upgrade: the TF30 gives way to the General Electric F110-GE-400 and the ALR-67 radar warning set is added, while the AWG-9 radar is retained.
- 38
- Units built
History
March 1987 brought the programme's first substantial modernisation, known at first as the F-14A Plus or F-14A+. The decisive change was the powerplant: the troublesome TF30 gave way to the General Electric F110-GE-400, more powerful and free of the compressor stall tendency that had shadowed the initial version. The new engine arrived alongside the ALR-67 radar homing and warning system, while much of the avionics, the AWG-9 radar included, was left unchanged.
On 1 May 1991 the designation became F-14B. Thirty-eight new aircraft were manufactured and a further 43 F-14As were converted to the standard.