The US Navy introduced the F-18 in 1983 to compliment and eventually replace the F-14. Since then, many avgeeks, members of the public and Navy higher ups have wondered which is better: F-14 or F-18?
In 2006, the US Navy retired its iconic F-14 aircraft, with their remaining F-14 pilots retraining on the F-18. Many of the original F-18 variants have been retired by the US Navy, in favor of newer and more advanced F-18 variants.
F-14 vs F-18: What is a Fighter Jet?
Thanks to popular aviation movies like Top Gun, the term “fighter jet” has entered popular vernacular. With that, it’s true meaning has been mostly distorted, with many small military aircraft being dubbed “fighter jets” by both the media and the general public.
Fighters were some of the first uses of aircraft. Usually, these aircraft were called “fighters” or “piston fighters” by the military and media. Some of the most famous “piston fighters” include the P-51 Mustang and Spitfire, as well as the P-47, Hurricane, Yak-3, Zero and Bf109.
With the invention of the jet engine by Frank Whittle or Hans von Ohain in the 1930’s, jet fighters became prevalent, leading to the term “fighter jet” being coined.
Whilst in WWII, the role of a fighter jet was solely to engage the enemy fighters and shoot down as many of them as possible, this role has since changed.
Following WWII, US-Soviet relations deteriorated, leading the way to the Cold War. Here, Soviet and American bombers and fighters regularly entered the other’s airspace.
Here, fighters would fly up in order to meat their American/Soviet counterparts.
However, both pilots were on strict orders not to fire on the enemy, unless they were fired upon. This saw fighter jets get additional responsibilities and capabilities.
Fighter jets were no longer solely for intercepting the enemy on the battlefield. They also gained abilities as light bombers, escort aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, light fighters and night fighters.
Some fighter jets can perform only some of these roles, where others can do most or all of them.
F-14 vs F-18: The Basics
Before we can compare the F-14 and F/A-18, we must first know some background on both fighters!
F-14
The late 1950’s and early 1960’s saw an abundance of new military technologies, following the Korean War. For the Soviets, this saw them develop anti-aircraft carrier missiles small enough to fit on their Tu-95 bombers.
Worst of all, these missiles could be fired from the Tu-95 from outside the US Navy’s F-4 Phantom’s combat radius. This presented a clear and evident threat to the US Navy, who established a competition for a new fighter jet.
At the time, the US Air Force had recently accepted the F-111 Aardvark to replace their F-105 Thunderchief fleets. As was common at the time, General Dynamics partnered with Grumman to develop a naval variant.
However, the Navy wasn’t interested in the F-111, and the Grumman-General Dynamics partnership fell apart. This led Grumman to begin to develop their own fighter jet.
This fighter jet was the XF-14, and the Navy was very interested in it. However, they asked Grumman to make some alterations following the USMC’s refusal of the aircraft (Grumman had offered the XF-14 to them the previous year).
Following these modifications, the XF-14 first flew on December 21 1970. Folloing this, the US Navy announced it would be purchasing the XF-14, now renamed as the F-14.
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat was introduced to the US Navy in September 1974, and eventually the Imperial Iranian Air Force (now the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) in January 1976.
F-18
In the early 1960’s, the US Navy established the Naval Fighter-Attack, Experimental (VFAX) program. This program was meant to replace the Navy’s ageing Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, A-7 Corsair II and F-4 Phantoms with one common aircraft.
This aircraft would have to compliment the F-14 then in service with the US Navy. At the same time, the USAF had received the F-15 from McDonnell Douglas, and was evaluating it for entry into service.
In August 1973, Congress demanded a lower cost alternative for the F-14. This saw Grumman design the F-14X (a stripped down F-14) whilst McDonnell Douglas designed a naval variant of the F-15.
Neither project was accepted, and eventually, the US Navy tagged along for the USAF’s Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program, which yielded the F-16 for the USAF. However, the US Navy was more interested in the McDonnell Douglas YF-17.
However, the YF-17 was designed for different specifications, so the US Navy and McDonnell Douglas worked together on a redesigned YF-17 variant. Eventually this became the YF/A-18, and eventually the F/A-18.
The F/A-18 first flew on November 18 1978, before entering service with the USMC in January 1983. The F/A-18 subsequently entered service with the US Navy in July 1984.
F-14 vs F-18: Specs
Both the F-14 and the F-18 have been very successful Navy fighters. As such, both Grumman and McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) have developed several variants of the F-14 and F-18 respectively.
The most common variant of the F-14 Tomcat is the F-14D, used exclusively by the US Navy. The most common variant of the F/A-18 is the F/A-18C, previously used by the US Navy among others.
| Specifications | F-14D | F/A-18C |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 16 ft (4.9 m) | 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m) |
| Wingspan | 64 ft 1.5 in (19.545 m) | 40 ft 4 in (12.3 m) |
| Length | 62 ft 9 in (19.13 m) | 56 ft 1 in (17.1 m) |
| Crew | 2 | 1 |
| Speed | Mach 2.34 (1,544 mph, 2,485 km/h) | Mach 1.5 (1,915 km/h; 1,190 mph; 1,034 kn) |
| Combat Range | 500 nmi (580 mi, 930 km) | 1,800 nmi (2,100 mi, 3,300 km) |
| Service Ceiling | 53,000 ft (16,000 m) | 50,000 ft (15,000 m) |
| G Limits | +7.5;-2.5 | +7.5; -3 |
| Armament | M-61A1 cannon; 4x AIM-9 Sidewinder; 4x AIM-120 AMRAAMs; 8x AIM-120 AMRAAM | M61A1/A2; AIM 9 Sidewinder/ AIM-9X/AIM 7 Sparrow/AIM-120 AMRAAM |
F-14 vs F-18: Cost
After looking at the F-14 and F-18’s specs, it may be tempting to declare a winner. However, we also need to look at overall cost as well!
F-14
At the F-14’s height, in 1977, Grumman listed the F-14’s price at $19.2 million (today worth a little over $81 million). However, this price was for the F-14A, rather than the more advanced F-14B or F-14D.
Despite being withdrawn from service in 2006, it is almost impossible to get your hands on an F-14, whether operational or not. Even if you are a former Navy Tomcat pilot, it is impossible to obtain a used Tomcat for airshow or museum exhibits!
This is mostly down to the fact that there was only ever one export customer for the Tomcat: Iran. During the time of the Shah, Iran and the US were allies, allowing the Shah to purchase F-14s over F-15s.
Today, Iran and the US aren’t allies, and Iran is cannibalizing it’s own F-14 fleet in order to keep some of its F-14s operational.
For that reason, the US military has banned all F-14 sales, either of working F-14s or part F-14s, for fear that Iran will get them eventually. As the US military is the only other owner of the F-14, it’s not just illegal to buy a working F-14, but is, quite literally, impossible!
When it was operated by the US Navy, it was also their most expensive aircraft. The aircraft costed between $35,000 and $40,000 per hour to operate.
Worse than this, once the Tomcat had landed, it required between 40 and 60 hours of maintenance, costing between $2,000 and $20,000 per hour!
F-18
A brand new F/A-18E or F/A-18F, bought directly from Boeing doesn’t come cheap. The lost price for both models is currently $66 million, however, you’ll need to be a military branch of a friendly nation in order to purchase one.
Assuming that you weren’t such, you always have the chance of buying an older F-18 model off the US or allied militaries. Recently the RAAF sold 46 of their F-18s for a grand total of $16 million each!
However, this was to US military contractor who help with F-18 pilot’s training. It is likely, that if you had the right experience, money and reasoning, you could purchase one as a civilian (for air shows and/or museum exhibit).
The US military claim that the F-18 cost around $24,400 to operate per hour, including fuel, maintenance and hangar fees. Currently, there is no estimate on how much it would cost to insure a F-18, however, it would probably be fairly costly.
F-14 vs F-18: Operations
Both the F-14 and F-18 have been involved in some of the US Navy’s most important campaigns of the past 30 years. Often, they have served alongside one another, especially in conflicts like Iran and Afghanistan.
F-14
The F-14 entered service too late in Vietnam to make a difference. However, this doesn’t mean that they weren’t deployed. Two squadrons were placed on board an aircraft carrier, participating in Operation Frequent Wind.
In the 1970’s, Libya, under Muammar Gaddafi, began to expand, eventually claiming the entire Mediterranean coast. The US, along with her allies, attempted to beat back Libyan forces.
Here, Soviet-made, Libyan Su-22s engaged two F-14s on patrol. The Libyan Su-22s fired on the F-14s, and the F-14s returned fire, downing both of the Su-22s. This created what is today known as Gulf of Sidra Incident.
In 1976, the Iranians took possession of several F-14s. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution happened, where an anti-American regime came to power. They subsequently used their F-14s against US-allied Iraq.
During this operation, Iran downed over 160 Iraqi aircraft, most of which were Western-made. In the process, Iran only lost between 12 and 16 F-14s, with the majority of them being from friendly fire.
When US-Iraq relations soured, the US subsequently used their F-14s (alongside other aircraft) during Operation Opera. Here, Iraqi military facilities were targeted and eliminated by US forces.
F-18
The F/A-18 first saw combat in 1986. Here, F/A-18s provided cover for US Navy F-14s and USAF F-15s during Operation Prairie Fire. Later on, during Operation El Dorado Canyon, US Navy F/A-18s bombed Benghazi, Libya.
Following this, the F/A-18 saw action during Operation Desert Storm, for the Americans as well as their allies. Here, Allied F/A-18s bombed strategic Iraqi military bases across the country.
In the late 1990’s, Yugoslavia broke up, leading to the Serbo-Croat war. This resulted in a UN peacekeeping force being deployed to nearby Bosnia and Kosovo. Among the aircraft sent were USN and USMC F/A-18s.
In 1986, the US Navy Demo team, the Blue Angels changed their aircraft from the A-4 Skyhawk to the F/A-18. Since then, the F/A-18 has served as the primary aircraft for the Blue Angels.
It has been announced that the Blue Angels will replace their early generation F/A-18 Hornets in favor of F/A-18 Super Hornets in mid-2021, if all goes to plan.
The F/A-18 is also used as a demonstrator by other countries as well. The Spanish Navy in particular often sends two F/A-18s to most military-oriented air shows, as do the Swiss and Canadians.
F-14 vs F-18: Opinions
Looking at the aircraft’s performance, history and cost is one thing. But aircraft can be crucified in the court of public opinion, as was seen with the Boeing X-32 program and even the F-35!
As such, I have asked several different members of the aviation community the question of “F-14 vs F-18- Which is the better aircraft?”
Pilots
I was fortunate enough to interview several former Navy F-14 pilots who now fly the F/A-18. I was also able to interview several older/younger pilots who had only flown either the F-14 or F/A-18.
Many of the pilots who had flown the F-14 and F/A-18 said that they preferred the F/A-18 simply because it was easier to operate, with more of the systems being operated by computers than by pilots.
With that being said, a few of these pilots, mainly older ones who’d flown the F-14 for much of their career, said that they preferred the F-14 for various reasons, mostly down to how iconic the F-14 is and personal preference.
Naturally, almost all of the pilots who had only flown one of the aircraft, preferred their own aircraft. A few F-18 pilots did say they preferred the F-14, mostly due to the film Top Gun getting them into naval aviation.
Avgeeks
As usual, I also asked many fans of aviation, more commonly known as avgeeks, about their opinions on the F-14 and F-18. As usual, I received a 50-50 split from the avgeeks.
For many of them, the F-14 is the reason why they got into aviation in the first place! By watching films like Top Gun, many of these avgeeks got their first look at aircraft, and were instantly hooked, and they’ve never forgotten it.
For many others, whilst the F-14 is iconic, it’s also outdated. The F-18 on the other hand, is not. The F-18 is still at the relative height of technology, being better than the F-14 from that standpoint.
Unusually, however, there were a few avgeeks who said they preferred neither. This wasn’t because they couldn’t choose, it’s because they wouldn’t. They loved both aircraft for completely different reasons!
Public
Recent years have seen new aviation programs be dragged through the mud for cost overruns and the like. These programs have subsequently seen their public approval drop.
Almost all of the public I interviewed preferred the F-14. Films such as Top Gun have immortalized the F-14 as one of the US’s best fighter jets. In fact, a few people I interviewed said it was the most iconic fighter jet!
Even many of the non-US or former military (including Air Force and Army) members of the public I had interviewed agreed with that statement. Even former F-15 and F-16 pilots agreed with that!
A few of the people I interviewed were former US Navy, both pilots and other trades. The vats majority of them preferred the F-14, although did say that they liked the newer F-18s more.
Me
Just as when I compared the F-14 and F-15, I initially didn’t have a preference for either aircraft. However, as I written this article, I have found myself preferring one aircraft over the other.
Similarly to the aforementioned article, whilst I like the F-18, I have come to find that I prefer the F-14 more. The F-18 may have technology on its side, but the F-14 has Top Gun.
As a kid, one of my favorite movies was Top Gun. I didn’t know it at the time, but that is (sort of) what inspired me to become an avgeek. And as they say, the rest is history…
However, it is not as clear-cut as the F-14 vs F-15 article. I also do quite like the F/A-18E and F variants, having seen them on display at several air shows.
Summary
The F-14 is both longer and taller than the F-18, not to mention being wider (wings both swept and non-swept). The F-14 is also equipped with more weapons that the F-18 is.
On top of this, the F-14 is much faster than the F-18, as well as being able to pull more g’s in total (mostly negative g’s, although this was restricted later on in the F-14’s service life). The F-14 also has a higher service ceiling.
Despite this, the F-18 has a longer combat range, at over triple the F-14’s. The F/A-18 also requires less crew, needing a sole pilot rather than a pilot and a WSO, as is standard of the F-14.
There are also 2350 F/A-18s (of all variants, including trainers and protypes) compared to only 712 F-14s (all variants, inducing trainers and prototypes). After all, there are strength in numbers…
F-14 vs F-18- Which is the better Navy fighter? Tell me in the comments!