Grumman Built an F-14 Tomcat in U.S. Air Force Colors in 1972 — But the Air Force Chose the F-15 Eagle Instead

Grumman Built an F-14 Tomcat in U.S. Air Force Colors in 1972 — But the Air Force Chose the F-15 Eagle Instead

In 1972, Grumman built a full-scale mock-up of an F-14 Tomcat painted in U.S. Air Force Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) markings at its Calverton test facility on Long Island, proposing the design as a replacement for the aging Convair F-106 Delta Dart in the continental air defense role. The Navy’s F-14 — paired with the AN/AWG-9 radar that could track 24 targets simultaneously and guide AIM-54 Phoenix missiles against six of them at ranges e…