A report on Grumman A-6 Intruder, McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II and Grumman F-14 Tomcat

KA-6D Intruder of Attack Squadron 34 (VA-34 "Blue Blasters")
An artist's concept of the A-12 Avenger II
A U.S. Navy F-14D conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf-region in 2005.
KA-6D Intruder of Attack Squadron 34 (VA-34 "Blue Blasters")
An artist's concept of the A-12 Avenger II
A U.S. Navy F-14D conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf region in 2005.
YA2F-1 showing the original tilting tailpipes
An artist's impression of the A-12 Avenger II in flight
The F-111B was designed to fulfill the carrier-based interceptor role, but had weight and performance problems, and was not suited to the types of aerial combat that were predominant over Vietnam
An A-6E landing on the aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66), showing the split airbrakes on the tips of its left wing
Various views of the A-12 as designed
Grumman's VFX entry was designed around the TF30 engine, AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 missile intended for the F-111B; this eventually became the F-14A
An A-6E Intruder aircraft assigned to USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).
A top view of A-12 vs. F-14 (wings spread) and A-6 (wings folded)
VFA-143 "Pukin Dogs" F-14B and F/A-18E Super Hornet in 2005
S-3A Viking, A-6E Intruder, and an EA-6B Prowler aircraft are parked on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) during a storm.
An A-12 Avenger II model on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum
An F-14D launching an AIM-7 Sparrow; a GBU-10 Paveway II is also carried.
A U.S. Marine Corps A-6 Intruder destroyed by a rocket and mortar bombardment on Da Nang Air Base in 1968 during the Vietnam War
An F-14D(R) from VF-213 flying over Iraq on last Tomcat deployment with LANTIRN pod on starboard wing glove station and LGB underneath fuselage.
An A-6E Intruder prepares for launch aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
F-14 Tomcat with wings in asymmetric sweep during testing for this possible in-flight malfunction
A-6A of VMA (AW)-242 in 1975
Rear view of the F-14 showing the area between the engine nacelles
A-6B on the USS Saratoga (CV-60) in 1971
An F-14D prepares to refuel with probe extended.
A-6C of VA-35 Black Panthers
F-14 with landing gear deployed
A KA-6D refueling an F-14A in 1987
F-14 Tomcat carrying an AIM-120 AMRAAM during a 1982 test.
An A-6E SWIP Intruder of VA-34 flying over Spain during Exercise Matador.
Two Iranian Tomcats equipped with multiple missiles, circa 1986, in the midst of a project to adapt I-Hawk surface-to-air missiles for F-14s
Final VA-34 A-6E SWIP Intruder launch from the flight deck of USS George Washington (CVN-73), 1996.
An F-14A of VF-84 Jolly Rogers, in a 1970s color scheme
Norden AN/APQ-148 Radar
An F-14A from VF-114 intercepting a Soviet Tu-95RT "Bear-D" maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
A-6F prototype in 1987
An F-14A of VF-32 during Operation Desert Storm with a KC-135 Stratotanker and two EA-6B Prowlers in the background
US Marine Corps EA-6A Intruder electronics aircraft of VMCJ-2 Playboys aboard USS America in 1974 during a visit to Scotland.
A Navy F-14D flying over the skies of Afghanistan on a precision bombing mission in November 2001.
A-6E Intruder of VA-52, 1981
The last F-14 launch from a carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt on 28 July 2006
A Grumman A-6 Intruder on display at Grumman Memorial Park
Iranian ace Jalil Zandi is credited with shooting down 11 Iraqi aircraft during the Iran–Iraq War, making him the highest scoring F-14 pilot.
An A-6 Intruder on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
Formation flight of Iranian Tomcats, 2008
An A-6F Intruder prototype on display at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, New York City
Close-up view of the distinctive afterburner petals of the GE F110 engine
An A-6E Intruder on display at Patuxent River Naval Air Museum
An upgraded F-14D(R) Tomcat with the ROVER transmit antenna circled with USS Theodore Roosevelt in the background
Orthographic projection of an A-6 Intruder
Grumman's proposed F-14 Interceptor for USAF Aerospace Defense Command in 1972 with the simulated "Buzz Code" and Aerospace Defense Command livery and emblem on the tail
A-6 ordnance, 1962
F-14 Tomcat operators as of 2014 (former operators in red)
An IRIAF F-14 Tomcat landing at Mehrabad, Iran.
F-14A Tomcat of NFWS (TOPGUN) NAS Miramar c. 1993
Front view of an F-14A at Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan, 2003
F-14A BuNo 162689 at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California, 2009
An F-14A on display at Grumman Memorial Park in New York
F-14A BuNo 160661 on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center's Aviation Challenge facility in Huntsville, Alabama, 2009
YF-14A at the Cradle of Aviation Museum
F-14B at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
F-14A of VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" at the Museum of Flight
Grumman F-14 Tomcat drawings
F-14A of VF 111 "Sundowners" (USS Carl Vinson)
F-14B from the VF-211 Fighting Checkmates carrying six AIM-54 Phoenix missiles.
Tomcat logo

It was to be an all-weather, carrier-based stealth bomber replacement for the Grumman A-6 Intruder in the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

- McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II

The A-6 was intended to be superseded by the McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II, but this program was ultimately canceled due to cost overruns.

- Grumman A-6 Intruder

Thus, when the A-6E was scheduled for retirement, its precision strike mission was initially taken over by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat equipped with a LANTIRN pod.

- Grumman A-6 Intruder

After the cancellation of the A-12, the Navy elected to purchase the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which went on to replace the A-6 Intruder and the F-14 Tomcat.

- McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II

In the 1990s, with the pending retirement of the Grumman A-6 Intruder, the F-14 air-to-ground program was resurrected.

- Grumman F-14 Tomcat

The Attack Super Tomcat 21 (AST-21) version was the last proposed Super Tomcat design, and was meant to be a more attack-oriented version of the ST-21 with possibly an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar from the canceled A-12 attack aircraft.

- Grumman F-14 Tomcat
KA-6D Intruder of Attack Squadron 34 (VA-34 "Blue Blasters")

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U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet

Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

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The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.

The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.

U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet
U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet
VFA-143 "Pukin Dogs" F-14B and F/A-18E in 2005
F/A-18F Super Hornet (left) and a F/A-18A Hornet (right)
Four F/A-18Fs of VFA-41 "Black Aces" in a trail formation. The first and third aircraft have AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR pods, and the last aircraft has a buddy store tank
An F/A-18F Super Hornet named "Green Hornet", during a supersonic test flight in 2010.
An F/A-18F refueling an F/A-18E over the Bay of Bengal, 2007
Oval Hornet air intakes vs Rectangular Super Hornet intake ramp
The Super Hornet's S-duct-like air intake partially conceals engine blades from radar waves
Two U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets fly a combat patrol over Afghanistan in 2008. The aircraft in the background is deploying infra-red flares
Aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), a mechanic performs system checks from the cockpit of a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet with three multifunction displays.
F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
F/A-18F being refueled over Afghanistan in 2009
An F-111C (at left) with one of the RAAF's first two F/A-18Fs.
An RAAF F/A-18F shortly after it first arrived in Australia
A RAAF Super Hornet at the 2019 Brisbane Festival
F/A-18F Super Hornet taxis to the runway for takeoff at Aero India 2011
An F/A-18F breaking the sound barrier.
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet operators 2010
A VFA-11 F/A-18F Super Hornet performing evasive maneuvers during an air power demonstration
A VFA-122 F/A-18F pulling a high-g maneuver at the NAS Oceana "In Pursuit of Liberty" air show, 2004
U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet
Super Hornets prepare for a catapult assisted launch on the USS Enterprise
Three view projection of the Super Hornet
F/A-18F at landing on USS John C. Stennis
An F/A-18F parked on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), as the ship operates in the Arabian Sea, December 2006

The Super Hornet entered fleet service with the United States Navy in 1999, replacing the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, which was retired in 2006; the Super Hornet has served alongside the original Hornet.

The McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II was canceled in 1991 after the program ran into serious problems; it was intended to replace the obsolete Grumman A-6 Intruder.