Visit to the NAS Patuxent River Aviation Museum

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Caughtlurking

There are still a few in the Boneyard but they're down to the last ones now.

Isn't the destruction of the remaining F-18s due to the government not wanting parts falling into the hands of the Iranians.

originally posted by: buddah6

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Caughtlurking

There are still a few in the Boneyard but they're down to the last ones now.

Isn't the destruction of the remaining F-18s due to the government not wanting parts falling into the hands of the Iranians.

I'm sure you meant to say F-14 but yes it was to deny them potential parts for theirs.

originally posted by: Sammamishman

originally posted by: buddah6

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Caughtlurking

There are still a few in the Boneyard but they're down to the last ones now.

Isn't the destruction of the remaining F-18s due to the government not wanting parts falling into the hands of the Iranians.

I'm sure you meant to say F-14 but yes it was to deny them potential parts for theirs.

Sorry, you are 100% correct...I'm just getting old er sumthin.

I see these beautiful pictures and I feel even older than I am. All the planes and helicopters from my generation are now museum pieces.

a reply to: Sammamishman

It's such a dumb and petty policy, especially since Iran has more than proven themselves to be capable of manufacturing spares for a 1970's-era fighter.

Part of me thinks that cynically, it's a ploy by the DOD to sweep under the rug the fact that they killed the best/most famous of the 4th-generation fighters well before its time after denying it a slew of much-deserved upgrades.

I'm sure that there are plenty of folks at L-M, the USN, and in the Pentagon who would really like for people to just forget about the Tomcat.

The Iran business is just a convenient excuse.

a reply to: Barnalby


The Navy wanted to get rid of the F-14. It cost a lot to maintain, was large and required a lot of manpower compared to the Hornet and Super Hornet. The Navy was getting budget crunched before 9/11. They wanted to maintain numbers while also lowering cost. Scrapping them quickly ensured that the Super Hornet program couldn't fail. The idea that Iran could steal sufficient parts from the middle of the US is ludicrous but the spare planes being offered to the wrong country in a shortsighted political bargain is slightly less unlikely. There's no doubt that if they were upgraded by a country with help from Russia or Israel they could be a tough adversary as an interceptor.

a reply to: Caughtlurking

The decision was made to scrap them after they found Iran, China, and others were using loopholes to buy parts from retired F-14s through government surplus programs.

www.nbcnews.com...

originally posted by: Barnalby
a reply to: Sammamishman

It's such a dumb and petty policy, especially since Iran has more than proven themselves to be capable of manufacturing spares for a 1970's-era fighter.

Part of me thinks that cynically, it's a ploy by the DOD to sweep under the rug the fact that they killed the best/most famous of the 4th-generation fighters well before its time after denying it a slew of much-deserved upgrades.

I'm sure that there are plenty of folks at L-M, the USN, and in the Pentagon who would really like for people to just forget about the Tomcat.

The Iran business is just a convenient excuse.

I am curious as to the state of the Iranian aerospace industry?

I have seen their stealth fighter program where they flew a R/C model and said it was the real deal. I have seen an airplane that looks like a copied Lockheed F-5 with an additional rudder. If there is more let me know.