F-14A Tomcat

The F-14A Tomcat is a twin engine, two-seat, variable geometry carrier-based fighter aircraft. It has been featured in multiple Ace Combat games, and has since been superseded by the F-14D Super Tomcat in newer titles.

History

Strangereal

The F-14A was employed by the naval aviation wing of various armed forces in the Strangereal world, along with the F-14B Bombcat and the advanced F-14D Super Tomcat.

Tomcats were operated by the Scarface Squadron and enemy forces during the 1995 insurrection in the Skully Islands.^[1]

During the Continental War, the F-14A was operated by Erusea and certain member-states of the ISAF's Navy. A particular operator of the aircraft was the Mobius Squadron, which employed such jets in carrier operations through the course of the war.^[2]

F-14As were operated by the Yuktobanian Navy and the Osean Maritime Defense Force, and were commonly deployed during the attacks on Osea and the invasion of Yuktobania in the Circum-Pacific War. Various squadrons operating from aircraft carriers as the OFS Kestrel, including Marcus Snow's VFA-206 launched in defensive missions during the attack on Port St. Hewlett and the maritime retreat to the Eaglin Straits, where many of them were destroyed by the Scinfaxi's ballistic missile attack.^[3]

Yuktobanian Tomcats were among the escorts of the cargo aircraft involved in the exodus from southern Yuktobania after the seizure of the Bastok Peninsula. Towards the end of the conflict, abandoned F-14As from the Kestrel's deceased flight crews were obtained by the Wardog Squadron, becoming their flagship aircraft as the Razgriz Squadron during their campaign against the Grey Men.^[3]

Infinity timeline

In the Ace Combat Infinity universe, the F-14A Tomcat design was acquired by Wernher and Noah Enterprises following the Ulysses Disaster and was later mass-produced by the company's Advanced Automated Aviation Plant systems along with the advanced Super Tomcat. The model produced by the company was a hybridized model with Super Tomcat features, adopting the AN/AAS-42 IRST pod and the AAX-1 TV tracking system - never used by actual -A models - while omitting the supersonic glove vanes of early-model aircraft.

Game analysis

Ace Combat Infinity

"A large, carrier-based fighter intended to take over from the F-4 as principle fleet air defense. It has variable wings that can automatically change angle even during flight, allowing for both high speed capabilities in high speed ranges and high maneuverability in low speed ranges. It is also equipped with long range missiles that can shoot down incoming enemies over a considerable distance. Known as the "Tomcat"."

― Hangar

Stats and Prices Lv.1-10

Lv.	Cst	SP	MO	ST	AA	AG	DF	Price
1	475	D+	E+	E	E+	F+	F+	21,630
2	511	C	E+	E	D	F+	E	3,180
3	547	C+	D	E	D	E	E+	5,730
4	583	B	D+	E+	D+	E	D	10,390
5	619	B+	D+	E+	D+	E	D	18,450
6	655	B+	C	D	C	E	D+	84,800
7	691	B+	C	D	C+	E	C	72,510
8	727	A	C+	D	C+	E+	C+	148,400
9	763	A	B	D	C+	E+	B+	254,400
10	799	A+	B	D+	C+	E+	A	513,040

Stats and Prices Lv.11-20

Lv.	Cst	SP	MO	ST	AA	AG	DF	Price
11	846	A+	B+	D+	B	E+	A	761,170
12	893	S	A	C	B+	E+	A+	1,036,430
13	940	S	A+	C	B+	D	S	1,656,150
14	987	S	S	C+	A	D	S	2,238,720
15	1034	S+	S+	C+	A+	D+	S+	2,789,920
16	1093	S+	S+	B	S	D+	S+	4,571,570
17	1152	S+	S+	B	S+	D+	S+	5,808,800
18	1211	S+	S+	B+	S+	C	S+	6,529,600
19	1270	S+	S+	B+	S+	C	S+	8,344,320
20	1329	S++	S+	B+	S+	C	S+	10,523,680

Credit Price Calculator
The calculator below shows the total credit price to upgrade this aircraft between any two levels. Enable "NSU Form" if a Nonstandard Upgrade Request Form was used to negate the Lv.5->Lv.6 price. The total will update automatically.The calculator is not available on the mobile version of the wiki.

Start Lv (0 - 19)	Final Lv (1 - 20)	NSU Form (Lv.5->Lv.6)	Total Credits

Weapon Ammo Lv.1-10

Lv.	GUN	MSL	HVAA	SAAM	6AAM
1	483	90	4	–	–
2	531	94	6	–	–
3	579	98	8	–	–
4	627	102	9	12	–
5	675	108	10	14	–
6	724	114	12	16	–
7	772	118	13	17	40
8	820	122	14	18	44
9	869	126	15	19	46
10	918	132	16	20	48

Weapon Ammo Lv.11-20

Lv.	GUN	MSL	HVAA	SAAM	6AAM
11	966	136	17	21	50
12	1015	140	18	22	52
13	1063	144	19	23	54
14	1112	148	20	24	56
15	1161	152	22	26	60
16	1205	154	23	27	62
17	1250	156	24	28	64
18	1294	158	25	29	66
19	1339	160	26	30	68
20	1384	162	28	32	72

Part Slots
These are the minimum / maximum part slots this aircraft carried at the respective levels. Part slots could be added until they reach maximum by repeatedly sortieing with the aircraft; see Tuning for more information. A maximum of 7 parts could be equipped at any time, regardless of available slots.

	BODY / Max	ARMS / Max	MISC / Max
Lv.1-5	14 / 38	14 / 38	14 / 38
Lv.6-14	16 / 40	16 / 40	16 / 40
Lv.15-19	17 / 41	17 / 41	17 / 41
Lv.20	18 / 42	18 / 42	18 / 42

Nicknames
Upgrading this aircraft to these levels unlocked the respective nicknames for use at any time.

• Lv.3: Cat's Eyes
• Lv.10: Variable Wing Devotee
• Lv.15: Wildcat's Master
• Lv.20: Immortal

Skin Galleries

Description

Air superiority gray

Gallery

Hangar

Flyby

F-14A Tomcat in aircraft upgrade screen

A Tomcat over Tokyo

The Tomcat shooting down an aircraft over Comona Base

The Tomcat chasing down a Searcher

Flyby

Description

Dark gray/Brown/Yellow-black camouflage

Availability

• Limited-Time Drop (June 5–July 1, 2014)
• Purchase from the Special Supply catalogue for 100 (April 15, 2016–permanent)

Gallery

Hangar view of Normal Skin #01 (yellow variation)

Flyby of Normal Skin #01 (yellow variation)

Hangar view of Normal Skin #01 (brown variation)

Flyby of Normal Skin #01 (brown variation) with United States Air Force roundels

Hangar view of Normal Skin #01 (dark gray variation)

Flyby of Normal Skin #01 (dark gray variation)

Flyby of Normal Skin #01 (dark gray variation)

Description

White, red, and purple livery from Air Combat

Availability

• Special Challenges

Gallery

Hangar view of "AC" Skin #01

Flyby of "AC" Skin #01

Flyby of "AC" Skin #01

Flyby of "AC" Skin #01

Flyby of "AC" Skin #01

Description

Black, blue, and purple variation of "AC" Skin #01

Availability

• Special Challenges

Gallery

Hangar view

Flyby view

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

"Large carrier-based air superiority fighter, known as the "Tomcat". Its variable sweep wing adjusts automatically to provide excellent mobility at both high and low speeds."

― Hangar description

How to Unlock

Complete "Lit Fuse". Costs $47,450 per aircraft.

Statistics

Speed: 68

Mobility: 46

Stability: 56

Defense: 59

Air-to-Air: 72

Air-to-Ground: 26

Weapons

MSSL x68

SAAM x10

Colors

OS: Air superiority gray with OMDF markings.

RZ: Razgriz black.

YK: Desert camouflage.

Gallery

Blaze's F-14A in Razgriz scheme

Blaze's F-14A in Wardog scheme

Marcus Snow's F-14A.

OMDF color in the hangar

Razgriz color in the hangar

A F-14A in Yuktobanian colors

Yuktobanian F-14A in flight

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

"Carrier-based air superiority fighter. This jet can attack multiple targets simultaneously."

― Hangar description

How to Unlock

Complete "Invincible Fleet". Costs $188,000.

Statistics

Speed: Medium

Air-to-Air: Above Average

Air-to-Ground: Above Average

Mobility: Average

Stability: Average

Defense: Average

Weapons

GUN x750

MSSL x64

XLAA x24

UGBM x10

Colors

Standard: Air superiority gray body.

Erusea: Multitone blue splinter camouflage. Livery used by adversary F-14s of the United States Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center.

Special: Black body with white wing leading edge and low-vis emblem of Red Baron character from Sky Kid. Costs $244,000.

Named Pilots

Levy (Invincible Fleet)

Gallery

Official artwork of the F-14. Note the "118" on the side, implying that this Tomcat belongs to Mobius 1

Rear of the aircraft in hangar

Aircraft front

ISAF color scheme hangar

Erusean color scheme hangar

Ace Levy color scheme hangar

Levy

A Tomcat over Comona

Silhouette

Cockpit

Ace Combat 2

The aircraft is displayed as F-14.

How to Unlock

Complete "Midnight Assassin" or "Bear Tracks". Costs $120,000.

Statistics

Power: 80

Defense: 60

Mobility: 50

Stability: 70

Climbing Ability: 80

Air-to-Air: 80

Air-to-Ground: 60

Duration of flight: 16 minutes

Absorbability: Normal

Weapons

• MSSL x72

Named Pilots

Z.O.E.

Gallery

F-14 paint schemes from AC2

Air Combat

The aircraft is displayed as F-14.

How to Unlock

EASY

Available at the start of the game

NORMAL

Available at the start of the game

HARD

Complete mission 2: Fighter Superiority

Price

$6,000,000 - original price

$5,400,000 - after first discount

$4,800,000 - after second discount

$3,600,000 - after third discount

Statistics

• Defense: 3
• Power: 4
• Mobility: 2
• Offense: 4
• Stability: 4

Named Pilots

• Sergeo (available as a wingman)

Gallery

The F-14 in the Hangar screen

Alternate paint scheme

Enemy F-14

Trivia

• The Erusean F-14A color scheme is a replica color scheme of the F-14A from the US Navy NSAWC (Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center).
• The Osean F-14A color scheme is a replica color scheme of the F-14A from the US Navy's VF-84 "Jolly Rogers".
• The Yuktobanian F-14A color scheme is a replica color scheme of the Iranian Air Force's F-14A.
• The F-14A Tomcat in Infinity is a possible reference to the real-life upgrade on a number of actual -A models into the F-14D Super Tomcat configuration, hence the appearance of the aircraft. However, said upgrade completely turns the A models into D models, with the newer AN/APG-71 and the GE F110 engines. The F-14A in Infinity on the other hand looked like a D model configuration with the TF30 engine instead of the F110.
• The F-14A Tomcat's deployment in the Usean coup d'état is non-canon as the aircraft does not appear in Ace Combat 2's remake, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, where it is replaced by the F-14D Super Tomcat.

References

1. ↑ Air Combat
2. ↑ Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War