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Alright, here is is, the F-14 Tomcat, the greatest (and certainly most famous) US Navy fighter ever!

The Tomcat is a twin-engine two seat variable swing wing supersonic fighter aircraft, developed by Grumman (they're everywhere!) and introduced in September 1974. It served as a maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor, and tactical recon platform. For armament, it packed a 20 mm M61 Vulcan gatling gun, 6 hardpoint for a total of 14500 lbs in ordnance or fuel tanks, and some combination of air-to-air AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow, and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. For bombs, it could pack JDAM, Pveway laser-guided, Mk-80 unguided iron, and Mk 20 Rockeye IIs.

For appearances in media, it had roles in the Final Countdown, Top Gun, JAG, and mutliple others.

The Tomcat was retired from US service on September 22 2006, to be replaced by the (not nearly as awesome) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Annoyingly, it still remains in service in the Iranian Air Force; it was exported when the Shah still ruled. This means, to make sure that Iran has trouble supporting their fleet, the US is shredding its retired Tomcats, so no new Tomcats will get added to museums, only the older models.

As for why this aircraft is outside, exposed to the elements, the son of Evergreen International Aviation Michael King Smith was a captain in the Air National Guard and fly a F-15 (still a cool plane, but not as cool). I blame inter-service rivalry.

In case you can't tell, the F-14 is my favorite (ex)Navy aircraft. When I was a kid, I wanted to join the Navy just to fly these things, but when I got old enough to list, it was retired (and I discovered that I probably wasn't suited to a career in the armed forces).

Description
Alright, here is is, the F-14 Tomcat, the greatest (and certainly most famous) US Navy fighter ever!

The Tomcat is a twin-engine two seat variable swing wing supersonic fighter aircraft, developed by Grumman (they're everywhere!) and introduced in September 1974. It served as a maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor, and tactical recon platform. For armament, it packed a 20 mm M61 Vulcan gatling gun, 6 hardpoint for a total of 14500 lbs in ordnance or fuel tanks, and some combination of air-to-air AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow, and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. For bombs, it could pack JDAM, Pveway laser-guided, Mk-80 unguided iron, and Mk 20 Rockeye IIs.

For appearances in media, it had roles in the Final Countdown, Top Gun, JAG, and mutliple others.

The Tomcat was retired from US service on September 22 2006, to be replaced by the (not nearly as awesome) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Annoyingly, it still remains in service in the Iranian Air Force; it was exported when the Shah still ruled. This means, to make sure that Iran has trouble supporting their fleet, the US is shredding its retired Tomcats, so no new Tomcats will get added to museums, only the older models.

As for why this aircraft is outside, exposed to the elements, the son of Evergreen International Aviation Michael King Smith was a captain in the Air National Guard and fly a F-15 (still a cool plane, but not as cool). I blame inter-service rivalry.

In case you can't tell, the F-14 is my favorite (ex)Navy aircraft. When I was a kid, I wanted to join the Navy just to fly these things, but when I got old enough to list, it was retired (and I discovered that I probably wasn't suited to a career in the armed forces).