Iranian F-14s Return to the Air: Adversaries Brokered Transfer of F-14 Parts to Iran

Thanks to the illegal sale of F-14 parts to nations that wheel and deal with Iran, they've managed to restore three of their F-14A Tomcat fighters to operational status.

What a darn shame.

Iran was sold 79 Tomcats during the reign of the Shah; following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, sales of the aircraft and spare parts were permanently suspended. The F-14s saw extensive action during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Then the parts started running out and many of their F-14s were cannibalized for spare parts. Eventually most of the F-14s were grounded, and Iran began an illicit smuggling program to acquire F-14 parts.

The good news is that the avionics aboard are ancient, so they won't pose too much of a threat if they go up against the U.S. Navy or Air Force. A first-generation F-14A is no match for an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or an F-22 Raptor.

Still, what a shame.

Government Seizes Four Retired F-14 Tomcats To Prevent Iran From Getting Its Hands on Spare Parts

The government seized four retired F-14 Tomcats today that were insufficiently prepared to be put on display this morning. Under the law, all military aircraft need to be demilitarized and be made incapable of flight. Apparently these four aircraft were not sufficiently dismantled enough.

One of the fighters was used as a prop for USA Network's popular "JAG" series. Another was said to still have military grade afterburners.

Iran is the only nation on earth that flies the F-14 as part of it's air force now; the U.S. retired it's entire fleet of F-14s last year due to the cost of operating them and the amount of time needed on the ground to keep them in the air. Government officials were worried that Iranian agents could acquire needed parts from the retired aircraft to service their F-14s.

Iran is scouring the globe for parts for the fighter; many are not airworthy anymore, and those that are need a lot of work. The U.S. recently banned selling of F-14 parts worldwide, partly out of concern that the parts could be transferred to Iran.

The four F-14s seized were at airports in California.