I think IRIAF still have some of their F-14s flying. I heard somewhere that they won't use them unless they really need to. And they also tried to produce the spare parts inland. Remember that in 2003 US AWACS also found a large formation of F-14s patrolling near the border of Iraq.
I agree that Fulcrum and Flankers still far beyond Western fighter's abilities. But since Russian upgraded the old versions, I think they are now pretty comparable though. I don't know how far
Think that Russia seems trying to wake up another cold war these days with America. Activating the Tu-160 squadrons back to fly task is one of their big movements ever since the end of cold war in 1991
And The Lion King is definitely a rip off from Kimba!

Art is for everyone and anyone can produce good art. I mean, people see splashes of paint in a canvas good art x_x

Damn, I wished the SONA was being held in Manila instead! XD

Well the Chinese are great in copying things. It wouldn't be a surprise if they made a copy of a whole amusement park XD

Wait, so it's because of the swept wings of the F-14 that got it retired? Are swept wings not needed anymore? They could have at least gave them to us x_x

Didn't they upgrade the Fulcrum and the Flanker? And aren't fighter aircraft designed for war in the first place... unless the aircraft was designed DURING times of war which will make it have less avionics for many reasons.

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Iran Tomcats seem nothing more but maintenance hogs, add to the fact that they can no longer acquire parts "under the table". The US smashed it's remaining F14s. Iran should just invest on Su-30s or their indigenous fighters.

If V.V.S. did upgrade, I hope they fixed the avionics layout. AFAIK their aircraft are known for forcing the pilots to always look down. The position of their SPO-15 RWR in the cockpit was a nightmare.. Funding is also the V.V.S.' main problem.

I don't think Russia wants to start a cold war. Just like their Tu-95 patrols, their just trying to keep their proficiency and re-stating their status as a credible force.

Lion King IS a RIP OFF. I used to love that movie back in the 90s but now.. after seeing this [link]

The pics were more than enough as proof.

I'm still thinking art is meant for people with artistic mind and skills. If one doesn't have these.. i dunno, attempts are futile. You can just see it in the very popular artists here versus nobodies..

SONA is nothing but a show. We are not sure whether what PGMA will say is true or not..

I have not seen any major product from China that that i haven't seen somewhere else. Maybe they had too much manafacturing foriegn things that the designs they come up was from someone else..

I was thinking since swept wings have more complex mechanisms. That means more parts that should always be checked or replace. The reason VF-25 in Macross look's like an F-14 might be because Shoji Kawamori love the Tomcat. Otherwise he would have made it fixed-wing like the VF-22.

The Su-27 and MiG-29 were built with simplicity. They also have commonality in earlier fighters like the MiG-21 and the MiG-23. These factors make the Flanker and the Fulcrum easier to produce should war break out since they need not to build or design new components.

Upgraded V.V.S. Flankers and Fulcrums are still rare today. Majority are baseline models of these aircraft.

Well of course if one is creative enough and has 1337 art skillz they create masterpieces! But with a lot of practice one can match a talented artist.

Still it would have been nice if it was held in Manila. Wala pasok XD

Now that I think about it, almost ALL of the products we use comes from China. Maybe it's not that they're copying the design but I think it's because they got used with making so much products for various foreign companies that when they try to think of their own unique design the thing that pops out of their mind is the design of the foreign company.

Hmm... I guess you have a point there. There are indeed a lot of complex mechanisms that move whenever those wings are used. Also I heard that a lot of parts fail whenever they flew it. Not sure if that's true or not though. Still the Tomcat has become an iconic figure. Good thing that the USAF decided to keep a few.

LOLZ I think the aircraft that has the most number of similarities is the MiGs. I think that every MiG evolved from another older version of a MiG XD

There is strength in numbers. The more aircraft you can produce, the higher your chances of winning a war, right? It's like during WWII with the Shermans and Tigers O_o

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I'm wondering if Tom Cruise wasn't placed inside a Tomcat or no Top Gun Movie was made. Would the aircraft become popular?

The F-117 Nighthawk was already retired and there weren't much talks about it. IMHO the F-117 demonstrated a leap in aviation technology called "stealth". It should have been more iconic than the Tomcat.

The F-14 only demonstrated longer radars, and missiles. It's just like an F-4 Phantom made more uber, other than that, the Tomcat didn't contribute much.. that's why i'm annoyed by it's "sometimes irrational fanbase" (not all Cat fans though ok?)

oh btw, correction, USN restored some of the Tomcats as museum displays.

Yup, numbers is strength~

but the Russians soon realized that they should also be on the cutting edge and not just numbers.

Those newer N-011M Bars/Zhuk whatever Radars can also engage multiple targets, an ability pioneered in western fighters.

If the Russians had numbers + superior abilities, they would beat any opposing force

That movie is like a classic to aircraft fanatics. I think it's because of that movie that a lot of people got hook on aircraft in the first place. BTW I haven't finished watching the whole movie. I got hooked on aircraft because of Ace Combat XD

The F-117 might have had a higher leap in terms of aviation technology but look at how it looks like. It's not actually "mascot" material (it looks like a cockroach). I also think that the F-14 became so famous because of Tom Cruise. Plus, you gotta love the way those wings fold back when the aircraft goes fast. VERY SEXAH!!! LOL XD

Oh and I read an article that the USAF restored I think 8 F-14s to be used in air shows. I can't recall it quite correctly, I has uber poor memory.

Well yeah if you have a lot of aircraft and at the same time they're uber 1337 you'll pwn teh enemy in no time! Now that I think about it... I wonder if another Cold War would break out. Wouldn't the USA feel threatened? O_o

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