F-14G Tomcat II

Intro

With the world changing around it the nation of Groznyj was slow to realize that it had to upgrade its aging fleets of conventional mass-market aircraft. Despite fierce proponents of this decision it took many years to convince those in charge that a major rennaisance in military design and doctrine was neccessary. Those deaf ears finally listened after the tragic defeat of Groznian defense forces on the colony of Yeltsmin against a massed Kraven offensive. After the loss of nearly all ground based air assets in Yeltsmin carrier based fighters became Groznyj's most important weapon and the greatest source of hope for the soldiers and refugees still on the island, evading Kraven search parties. However it quickly became evident that despite the ferocity and bravery with which Navy pilots fought, it was still a losing battle against superior numbers and equipment. Thus the decision was unanimously made to create a new airsuperiority carrier-based fighter to take back the skies over the occupied colony. With little time to come up with original designs; engineers looked to what was tried and true and improve upon that. That is how the design of the F-14G came into being. Submitted by Krackow Aerospace Industries, the design concept was approved by highcommand and efforts were made to actually design and build the aircraft in the impossibly short amount of time available.

Background

The F-14G is a significant upgrade from the F-14D Tomcat and probably the most astounding feet of Groznian engineering when taking into account the conditions surrounding its development. By first looks the plane looks almost identical to a regular F-14 from far away, however this is where the similarities end. The fighter was designed with the ongoing war as a major influence and will serve on carriers and ground bases as the staple of the Groznian Air Force and Navy after its production.

Airframe

The airframe of the F-14G is a far step up from that of the F-14D. Using a mix of 60% Aluminnum-Lithium alloy, 17% Titanium, 22% CFRP, and 1% Nickel for good measure. This adds to an enourmous saving in weight and increase in strength by materials alone. Every ounce of this weight reduction counts with the new engines used in the plane. The downside to the great incerase in performance and endurance is the cost associated with all the alloys and composite materials used. In addition to changes in the makeup of the plane, it is also larger than its predecessor. The plane is a foot longer than the F14 to make room for more avionics and a larger internal gun. The wingspan is also a foot longer when completely unswept. In addition the F-14G was designed to be mechanic-friendly so as to decrease service times. With numerous access hatches and more intelligently layed inards, the F-14G's airframe was built with help from mechanics who would actually work on the thing. Furthermore stealth was taken into account and the airframe was modified slightly to be more stealtyh; this ussually entailed changing as little as possible for maximum effect (the designers were themselves inlove with the F-14 as a plane and didn't want to destroy the classic image but instead improve and modernize it).

Engines

The old engines have been replaced with 2 Korjan&Woolf F764 afterburning turbofans rated at 46,000 lbs of thrust each. This equates to a huge power advantage over the old Tomcat and a much better thrust to weight ratio. The engines are also designed to be economical so when not at full burn they can provide exceptional range and endurance, two things that are very important to the new fighter apart from speed and power. As a result of all this power Tomcat II pilots are able to supercruise at mach 1.76; a feet unattainable by the old F-14D which couldn't even supercruise. This leads a much extended range and faster reaction times. However as a downside to their efficiency and power is weight. The engines add a great deal of weight to the fighter and this is not helped by their being designed to be more mechanic-friendly.

Weapons

The designers of the F-14G decided to use GAU-12 inplace of the Tomcat's old M61 Vulcan. This was after considering the effectiveness of a 20mm cannon verses 25mm in a close-quarters situation between aircraft. The original goal was to fit a thousand rounds inside the aircraft but after an intensive and hectic period of moving around intenal parts, experimenting with different avionics and in some cases throwing them all out just to see what would work, it was found to the chagrin of the AirForce and Navy that fitting a thousand rounds was just impossible unless significant changes were made to the modified airframe. Finally a way was found to fit 946 rounds inside the fueselage. The Tomcat II still uses all external weapons aside from its gun and the pylons are all essentially unchanged aside from the strengthening due to new materials. Two additional hardpoints, invisible to the untrained eye have been added to the upper surface of the stationary wing or the 'shoulders' of the plane. Here an additional two pylons can be mounted on top of the aircraft if the mission makes it necessary. The F-14G has the ability to effectively use smart bombs in strike missions and can also accept the comparatively small nuclear warhead mounted underneath the fuselage.

Avionics

The F-14G Tomcat 'II' uses fly-by-optics in place of the old hydraulics used by its predecessor. The result is an incredible increase in responsiveness and maneuverability. Replacing most of the buttons and knobs are OLED displays which relay organized and relavent information to the pilot and RIO. This adds to better awareness and survivability on part of the crew of the F-14G. The Tomcat 'II' uses a tri-screen display just ahead of the centered joystick. The center screen displays an organized collection of the most important information as well as the radar. The left screen displays a basic schematic of the fighter including its weapons. This screen also gives relavent information such as remaing fuel, estimated flight time remaining/distance and the health of the aircraft in a color coded schematic. The pilot can use the touch screen feature to get more detailed information on the particular parts of the aircraft but this is better suited to the Radar Intercept Officer. The screen on the right displays other information such as communications, avionics and other info. While the screens in the pilot's seat display information relavent to him as the pilot, the screens in the RIO's seat show information more tailored to his job. In the back seat their are 4 touch screens showing more detailed information to the RIO. These allow him to do more advanced communications work as well as tuning the radar as well as other tasks. However the screens do not get rid of all the buttons and knobs in the cockpit. The design goal was for simplicity and usefulness, not an overdeveloped love-affair with technology.

In addition to all this a new feature unique to the Tomcat II is the option for the pilot to fine-tune the responsiveness and sensitivity of the plane to his/her own preference. The planes electronic radar is able to track targets up to a range of 265 miles and relay that information to the onboard computer which then organizes it and displays it to the pilot and RIO allowing them full combat awareness without being bombarded with an overload of information. The radar, mounted in the nose, is also able to detail a topographic map of the land including buildings and moving vehicles. The F-14G's radar can also uplink with that of other F-14G's or other fighters in range and share combat information aswell as each plane's status. In addition to this the F-14G can share data with the radars of naval ships and ground stations, relaying combat information to control centers, or even directly to ground forces in the heat of battle.

In addition to all these features, the F-14G will also eventually incorporate the use of 3D thrust vectoring nozels for improved manueverability. This will allow the pilot to execute maneuvers such as a 180 degree flip in mid-air, actually flying backwards for a few seconds before powering forward with its engines, as well as other acrobatics allowing the pilot and plane to become a much more fearsome weapon once in a dogfight; far superior to its predeccessor.

Despite the added cost of all these features the F-14G has the potential to be an invaluable part of Groznian military operations on the ground, air, and sea making the cost well worth it in the eyes of the military.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Type: Air Superiority Fighter
• Contractor: Krackow Aerospace Corp.
• Length: 62ft 7in.
• Wingspan: 65ft-38.6ft
• Height: 16ft
• Propulsion: 2x Korjan&Woolf F764 afterburning turbofans: 46,000 lbs each
• Total Net Thrust: 92,000 lbs
• Empty Weight: 42,000 lbs
• Max Take-Off Wt: 105,000 lbs
• Min Fuel Wt: 26,250 lbs (@ MToW)
• Max Fuel Wt: 36,750 lbs (@ MToW)
• Fuel Capacity:
• internal: 16400 lbs
• external: 4,000 lbs
• Pylon(s):
• 6 hardpoints (4 under fueselage/2 under wings) + 2 concealable hardpoints on top of wings - total of 10 stations w/ 6 Phoenix missiles or 12 w/o Phoenix missiles.
• Normal Payload: 4,500-7,000 lbs
• Max Payload: 56,400 lbs (26,250lbs)
• Normal Combat Weight:
• 64,315 lbs [fighter/escort]
• 73,320 lbs [fleet air defense]
• Thrust-to-Weight Ratio: 1.43/1
• Combat Radius: 967mi
• Ferry Range: 2,697 mi
• Operational Ceiling/Altitude: 62,000ft
• Max Altitude: 78,000ft
• Supercruise Speed: Mach 1.76
• Max Supercruising Speed: Mach 1.9
• Max Speed: Mach 2.71
• Crew (List): 2: Pilot/RIO
• Price: $91 Million
• Cost for Export: Not For Sale

Pylon weight certifications:

• 2 wing double: 1,400lbs & 4,200lbs
• 4 main fueselage: 7,200 lbs
• 2 centerline fueselage: 4,800 lbs
• 2 topside: 2,600 lbs