F-14 Tomcat Operational History - U.S. Navy Service - The Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)

The Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)

Tomcats performed combat air patrols in protection of U.S. carrier battle groups and coalition forces deploying to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Independence battle groups, both of which had four F-14 squadrons between them, were the only U.S. assets capable of immediately responding to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and deterring any incursions into Saudi Arabia in August 1990. U.S. forces deploying to the theater did so initially under the protection of naval air cover.

Ten F-14 squadrons participated in the war against Iraq from 17 January to 28 February 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. Tomcats provided escort protection for attack aircraft, long range defense of ships, combat air patrols and performed tactical reconnaissance missions with TARPS. A total of 4,124 sorties were flown by the 99 F-14s in theater. The greater part of the sorties were air-to-air missions, although Tomcats were left with few aerial targets to contend with due in part to the rapid disintegration of Iraq’s air defense system by coalition attacks, which grounded the majority of Iraq’s air force.

Compared to its U.S. Air Force counterpart, the F-15, there were greater limitations on the use of beyond visual range missiles for the F-14 during Desert Storm. This was the result of the U.S. Navy not having developed the systems and procedures required to integrate its carrier air groups into a joint air component command, as Cold War-era tactics had the Navy operating on its own. Navy fighters were not able to solve the strict rules of engagement (ROE) using most of their on-board sensors and relied on outside clearance such as U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentries to receive permission to fire. In contrast, U.S. Air Force F-15s had the systems necessary to independently identify enemy aircraft from beyond visual range and were given the primary overland combat air patrol stations to intercept Iraqi aircraft that made it into the air.

Political reasons have also been attributed to limiting aerial engagements involving F-14s during the Gulf War. According to accounts from Navy pilots, Navy fighters were called off from Iraqi aircraft so that other coalition fighters could engage them. One event used to support this notion occurred on 24 January 1991, when a U.S. Air force E-3 Sentry did not inform U.S. naval units of a pair of Iraqi Mirage F-1EQs that flew into the Persian Gulf. Saudi F-15s were vectored instead of F-14s that were in a better position to shoot down the Iraqi fighters. Another explanation for why the F-14s did not intercept the Mirage F-1s stems from some of the procedural and technical difficulties U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy assets had in passing tactical information to each other. The E-3 could not directly contact the F-14s in a timely manner since they were under the control of the USS Worden (CG-18), which was not able to get a clear radar picture to accurately vector the F-14s.

Tomcat aircrews that encountered Iraqi fighters found that the Iraqis would disengage and flee once tracked by the F-14's radar and pursued. On the first day of Desert Storm, two Iraqi MiG-21s attempting to escape from four VF-103 F-14Bs flew directly into a flight of four F/A-18s that shot down both MiGs. According to interviewed F-15 pilots, several kills by F-15s were made in a similar manner, with Iraqi aircraft being downed after retreating from Tomcats.

In addition to the air-to-air duties, Tomcats supported the coalition’s need for battle damage assessments (BDA) and locating Scud missile launch sites by performing tactical reconnaissance missions utilizing TARPS. These missions helped fill in intelligence gathering gaps when cloudy skies prevented the use of space-based surveillance systems.

On 21 January 1991, an F-14B with its pilot, Lieutenant Devon Jones, and Radar Intercept Officer, Lieutenant Lawrence Slade, of VF-103 was shot down by an SA-2 surface-to-air missile while on an escort mission over Al Asad Air Base. Jones was recovered the following day, but Slade was captured and held as a prisoner of war until his release on 4 March 1991. This incident marked the only time a U.S. Navy F-14 was lost to hostile fire.

One air-to-air kill was credited to the F-14 during the war. An Iraqi Mil Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by a VF-1 F-14A using an AIM-9 Sidewinder on 6 February 1991.

The Tomcat faced an early retirement due to budget cuts following the end of both the Persian Gulf and Cold Wars in 1991. However, the retirement of the Grumman A-6 Intruder was impetus for the U.S. Navy to continue to use the F-14 by upgrading it with a precision strike capability.