An F-14 Tomcat in service with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) flies over a desert in the southwestern United States in 1986–1987. After the US Navy retired the Tomcat in 2006, most surviving models were destroyed to prevent spare parts from reaching Iran, the aircraft’s only other operator. (NASA)

The ‘Maverick Act’ Could See American F-14 Tomcats Fly Again

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The United States has just three F-14s remaining in its inventory—but it is far from clear if any of them could be made airworthy again.

The US Senate has unanimously passed Bill S.4161, better known as the Maverick Act, for the purpose of preserving the last three F-14D Tomcats in the US inventory. The bill has drawn considerable excitement from the aviation community because it also stipulates that, if possible, at least one of the three Tomcats should be restored to flying condition.

Since the F-14’s retirement in the mid-2000s, the aircraft and their associated parts have been systematically destroyed in order to prevent spare parts from being smuggled to Iran, the F-14’s sole remaining operator. Now, the US may finally allow the famed F-14 to return to the skies.

The United States Destroyed Most of Its Retired F-14s

The US........

© The National Interest