The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a two-crew, variable wing-geometry, maritime air superiority fighter that served with the US Navy for 32 years and continues to serve with the IRIAF in Iran. The F-14 was the US Navy's frontline fighter from the 1970s to the mid-2000s. Over the course of its long service it also became one of the US Navy’s premier precision ground-attack platform and its lone airborne reconnaissance asset.

Noteworthy features of the Tomcat are its swing-wing configuration, two-man crew, and the powerful AN/AWG-9 Weapons Control System (WCS) and radar. The AWG-9 allows employment of the long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile, and the LANTIRN targeting pod allows precision ground strikes using laser-guided bombs. The F-14 Tomcat was present in several historic events that include the two Gulf of Sidra incidents, Operations Desert Storm Iraqi Freedom, the Yugoslavian conflict, and Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan. It was also immortalized in the iconic motion picture, Top Gun, and starred in several other feature films including The Final Countdown, Executive Decision, and others.