F-14B Tomcat

The F-14B Bombcat, heavily based off an actual F-14B, was a plane exclusive to Ace Combat 5. As the name suggests, it has GPB as it's secondary weapon, and is the best aircraft for air-to-ground missions out of the F-14 line of planes.

Description
Initially known as the F-14A+ (Plus) the F-14B is an improved variant of the original F-14A. The F-14As were initially fitted with the TF-30 turbofan engine, originally designed for the F-111F Aardvark strike fighter. However, since the F-14 was designed as a high-performance fighter/interceptor, its constant maneuvering often caused the engines to suffer from compressor stalls, since they were not intended for such stressful maneuvers. As a result this hampered much of the F-14's early career. In March of 1987, much needed upgrades given to a new batch of F-14s, most important of, were the new, more powerful and much more reliable General Electric F110-400 after-burning turbofans derived from those of the F-16's; thus giving the new F-14Bs and Ds far greater potential than with the troublesome TF-30s.

All Tomcat models had bomb carrying capability from the beginning, but they were not implemented until after Operation Desert Storm. The bomb carrying F-14s were often nick-named "Bombcats". Despite having a limited air-to-ground weapons selection, the F-14s were seen to be very successful in carrying out effective strikes on enemy targets. All variants of the F-14, including the F-14B, have been retired from U.S. Navy service as of 2006.

Standard Weapons

 * Gun: 1x 20mm M61A1 Vulcan Cannon
 * Missile: AIM-9M Sidewinder

Special Weapons

 * GPB: GBU-24 Paveway III (shown as GBU-31 JDAM when parked in hangar during aircraft purchase/selection screens) (AC5)

Statistics

 * Speed: 78
 * Mobility: 54
 * Stability: 61
 * Defense: 60
 * Air-to-Air: 47
 * Air-to-Ground: 61

Comparable Aircraft

 * F-15C Eagle
 * F/A-18E Super Hornet
 * F/A-18F Super Hornet
 * F-111F Aardvark
 * Tornado F.2
 * Tornado F.3
 * Su-27 Flanker
 * MiG-31 Foxhound
 * MiG-31M Foxhound
 * F-15E Strike Eagle
 * F-15K Slam Eagle
 * F-15I Raam
 * F-15SG