What central wing structure did Grumman use to replace the…

What central wing structure did Grumman use to replace the F-111's steel?

Short answer

With a single-piece central wing carry-through structure in electron-beam welded Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy, spanning 6.71 m. That wing box was manufactured in titanium and electron-beam welded at Grumman's plant in Bethpage, Long Island.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What central wing structure did Grumman use to replace the F-111's steel?

F-14A Tomcat over Iraq during Southern Watch

The Tomcat's titanium box

The F-14's central wing carry-through structure is a single piece electron-beam welded from Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy, spanning 6.71 m. The wing box was manufactured in titanium and electron-beam welded at Grumman's facility in Bethpage, Long Island. About 25% of the aircraft's structure is titanium: the wing box, the pivots and the wing's upper and lower skins. A large fixed glove carries the outer wing pivot, with the two spaced 17 feet 10 inches apart.

What it did inherit from the F-111

The F-14 derived from Grumman's initial Model 303 design and reused the TF30 engines from the F-111B, as well as incorporating the large AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, both carried over from the F-111B. The weight targets for the two versions of the F-111 proved too optimistic, and excess weight burdened the F-111B throughout its development.

A structure that survived crashes

The wing box was so physically strong that in many F-14 crashes it was the only part of the airframe that survived intact. Variable-sweep wing technology appeared on several aircraft, including the XF10F, the F-111, the MiG-23/27 and the B-1 bomber, but it is probably the Grumman F-14 Tomcat that is most associated with it.