The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a twin-engine, variable sweep wings capable of supersonic flight. The aircraft is crewed by a Pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer who share the tasks of navigation, target acquisition, ECM and weapons usage. The Tomcat was operated by the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force only. The name Tomcat is said to come from the call-sign used by Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly which conformed to the USN tradition of giving Grumman aircraft feline names.
Established as VBF-19 in January 1945 this unit would later become VF114 Aardvarks in 1950. In May 1991 VF-114 began a long cruise on the USS Lincoln originally head for the Persian Gulf but was diverted to the Philippines to evacuate military personnel when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. With this completed USS Lincoln proceeded to sail to Desert Storm but when they arrived, the task became post ceasefire patrols over countless burning Kuwaiti oil wells. In November 1991 VF-114 returned home and was disestablished in 1993.