F-14 vs F-15 - Difference and Comparison

Table of Contents

The F-14 Tomcat is a (now retired) supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat fighter aircraft, developed for use by the United States Navy. The F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter used by the U.S. Air Force. The F-15 was developed as an air superiority fighter. The F-14 is used as an interceptor, for air superiority, and as a multirole combat aircraft. It was retired by the U.S. Navy in 2006 but is currently used by the Iranian air force.

Comparison chart

Differences — Similarities —

F-14 versus F-15 comparison chart

	F-14	F-15
	current rating is 4.29/5 1 2 3 4 5 (409 ratings)	current rating is 4.11/5 1 2 3 4 5 (735 ratings)

Role	Interceptor, air superiority and multirole combat aircraft	Air superiority fighter
Manufacturer	Grumman	McDonnell Douglas Boeing Defense, Space and Security
National origin	United States	United States
Number built	712	1,198
Also known as	Grumman F-14 Tomcat	McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
Unit cost	US $38 million	US $28-30 million
Status	In use by Iranian Air Force	Used primarily by the US, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Israel
Number of engines	2	2
Maximum speed	Mach 2.34	Mach 2.5
Number still in service	0 in US; 25 operational in Iran.	222 in US; over 1000 worldwide.
Length	62 ft 9 in	63 ft 9 in
Number of seats	2	1 or 2
Introduced	September 1974	January 1976
Wingspan	Spread:64 ft. Swept:38 feet	42 ft 10 in
Armament	20 mm M61 Vulcan Gatling-type cannon, missiles, bombs	20mm M61 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling cannon, bombs, missiles, drop tanks.
Loaded weight	27,669 kg	20,200 kg
Rate of climb	More than 45,000 ft/min	50, 000+ ft/min
Combat radius	575 miles	1222 miles
Service ceiling	50,000 ft	65,000 ft

F14 Tomcat on patrol over the Persian Gulf

History

A vapor cone becomes visible when flying an F-15 Eagle sports at or near the speed of sound

The F-14 was developed in the US by Grumman as part of long term attempt to develop long-range, high-endurance interceptors to defend carrier battle groups against anti-ship missiles. It was first flown on the 21st December 1970 and was introduced for use by the US Navy in September 1974 to defend aircraft carriers from Soviet bombers carrying long-range cruise missiles. It was exported to Iran in 1976, and was retired from use by the US Navy on September 22nd 2006, two decades after the tomcats were glamorized in the 1986 Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun".

The F-15 was developed as an air superiority fighter with both air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities. As the planes developed by the US Navy, such as the F-14, were unsuitable for these purposes, the US Air Force spearheaded the F-X program, which led to the development of the F-15A. It made its first flight in July 1972. It was introduced in 1976 and was followed by other single-seat and two-seat models with extra fuel capacity and improved radar and engines.

Design

The F-14 is 62 feet 9 inches long, with a spread wingspan of 64 feet and a swept wingspan of 38 feet. Its loaded weight is 61,000 pounds.

The F-15 is 63 feet 9 inches long, with a wingspan of 42 feet 10 inches. Its loaded weight is 20,200 pounds.

Cockpit

An F-15D from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida releasing flares

The F-14 has a bubble canopy that contains two seats and allows for all-round visibility.

The cockpit of the F-15 is mounted high in the forward fuselage. It has a one-piece windshield and large canopy.

Engines

The F-14 initially used two Pratt & Whitney TF30 turbofan engines. However, as 28% of accidents were attributed to the use of these engines, they were eventually replaced by two General Electric F110 engines.

The F-15 uses two Pratt & Whitney F100 axial-flow turbofan engines with afterburners mounted side-by-side in the fuselage.

Armament

The F-14 can carry over 6,700 kg of stores under the fuselage and wings. It was fitted with an internal 20 mm M61 Vulcan Gatling-type cannon. It can also carry AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, and both laser guided and unguided bombs.

The F-15 can be armed with AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles, AIM-120 AMRAAM advanced medium range air-to-air missiles, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder missiles and a M61A1 20 mm Gatling gun.

Operators

F-14s are currently only used by the Iranian Air Force after the U.S. retired them from use in February 2006.

F-15s are used by the US Air Force, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.