F-14A IRIAF : A Detailed Review

[@TimsVariety]

Links to my major guides: Radar kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZbKmZ6VZ6mjnKM Air To Air Missiles kzbin.info/www/bejne/laW0Z32whbx4fLc RWR kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoCqkq2LnLqXqbM

[@TimsVariety]

Before anyone worries about the "medical procedure" disclaimer about my raspy voice in this vid, I had a routine endoscopy yesterday (thats the thing where they stick a camera down your throat and look around) to try and diagnose, or rule-out, potential acid-reflux. Absolutely nothing to worry about, but they scooped a tiny piece out of the inside of my throat to biopsy and its still incredibly sore. Sorry for the raspy voiceover, but I didn't want to delay getting this out to you guys.

[@acronux]

Good to hear

[@dingusbingus7463]

Throat scoop 😢, feel better soon Tim

[@vbvol]

I have to get one twice a year for my EOE😭

[@TimsVariety]

@@vbvol You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about then ... doing the voiceover wasn't fun, but I didn't want to delay the vid.

[@TimsVariety]

@@dingusbingus7463 They said I'd be back to normal by the weekend. :-)

[@Tanks.With.Teeth.Malloy]

I was having a bad day...but then I see this...and Im now having a good day.

[@thade6130]

The day just started you shit the bed

[@K_I_L_R_O_Y]

Then you load in to a 12.3 match and suddenly you’re having a bad day again 😔

[@mortexic4939]

8:42 I love that you show more risky/aggressive gameplay like this in some of your vids instead of playing it super safe to get more reliable kills like some others on this platform.

[@TimsVariety]

Hence the "variety" ;-) I try to show different playstyles when possible.

[@Element0145]

I’ve been trying to be aggressive with this f14 , after I get used to the radar and earn the rest of the missiles .

[@Klaus_Klavier]

Spoke to an Iranian once about the tomcats, he claims Iran had a flourishing aerospace industry with help from Russia and China and they reverse engineered tomcats and are upgrading them with Russian engines and bringing older airframes back into service

[@TimsVariety]

As I mentioned in another comment, regardless of any geopolitical stuff its really impressive that they've kept them flying for over 40 years without any first-party support.

[@dripsnake44]

⁠​⁠@@TimsVariety Honestly makes me wonder what could’ve happened if there was no revolution. Would they have gotten a lot more Tomcats and replacement parts to keep them going? Would there be more Tomcats displayed in the U.S. instead of being scrapped? Would Iran have replaced them already with another U.S. jet? There’s a chance that we got the *only* possible situation where the Tomcat is still in service anywhere, one where we lost so many from being scrapped and so many being non-airworthy just due to politics.

[@finkamain1621]

@@dripsnake44 There's a lot of Tomcats on display in the US but the engines and avionics are scrapped because the US gov is afraid of Iranians using museums as some sort of heist

[@bilalsadiq1450]

​@@dripsnake44we're just speculating now, but the Tomcat was a very niche and VERY expensive aircraft to procure and maintain. Hell, Iran probably would've replaced them long ago if it weren't for international sanctions. Even the US navy went on to replace it's fleet with Hornets, cancelling the upgraded Tomcat program, ending with the D model in the 90s. Fundamentally, it's mid-cold war technology pushed to the limit. Doubtless Iran has only invested so much into them because it's their only remotely capable air superiority airframe, especially compared to the various F-5 freedom fighter-derived aircraft they've been able to produce.

[@georgeboyred]

Wow Tim got this out like he was on deadline 😂 and here I was expecting this to drop this weekend

[@TimsVariety]

I had hoped to get it out late last night or earlier this morning, but I lost half-a-day yesterday from the medical crap I mentioned in another comment.

[@norske_ow3440]

I was hoping to find an early vid on it. Was really excited to see that it was Tim

[@digitalchaos10]

Another thing to note, (unless it’s been patched) the Yasser missiles will proxy on YOU and will work as an alternate J-Out option

[@mk6315]

Funny formation prank

[@Mountains303]

Damn you were on top of this release for sure!

[@TimsVariety]

It would have been out late last night, but I lost half-a-day yesterday for medical stuff (posted a comment about it, nothing serious).

[@TheJayjam]

-"It has an absolutely ENORMOUS warhead" -Hit-

[@Nightmare77_Games]

Thanks for the video, I appreciate it tim! Also hope you have a quick recovery time for your throat!

[@TimsVariety]

Thanks man. Should be back to normal by the weekend.

[@bruce_invincible]

hey Tim I am inhaling your tutorial over and over. It's so good - to the point and not overwhelming, while very informative and split into useful sections. U DA BEST

[@Emma-i9x]

9:41 I always fire my missiles at 25 to 35 km/h^^

[@lavapoison]

Aww uhm, yeah I launch them at 70km min 😭 (glad I watched the video)

[@zachthepizzaguy]

Thanks for another amazing review !

[@Element0145]

Can confirm , steep learning curve , I’ve just stepped into radar jets with the kunass , and it was abysmal trying to fight f14s , this is a totally different game style but on the rounds where I was able to fire my long range missiles and get in close for some cannon shots I had a great time , most of the time I’m getting nailed by one of the 22 long range missles the enemy team threw our way .

[@Leosedits-n1r]

I hope your throat feels better thanks for making this video made my day

[@BleedingUranium]

New to the channel (but have heard great things) and new to higher BRs, having played pretty much exclusively WWII planes/ships/tanks for years... but the Tomcat is the Tomcat and this was a perfect way to get one without needing to go through the whole tree. Your guides on radar and missiles were _immensely_ helpful and very well put together, thanks so much! I'm sure I'll do terrible in this for a while, but oh well, I'll have fun anyway. :)

[@lucky7th331]

Been waiting for this one, thx for the rundown on it and I hope you're doing well

[@rammen4]

So happy you made a video on this!

[@Gustav_Kuriga]

Thank you for telling us when sources conflicted rather than just picking a source and acting like there is no uncertainty about how true it is.

[@TimsVariety]

Yeah, I try to be fair with that stuff. With a plane like this where the publicly available info says 20 different things, and none of the sources strike me as more reliable than the others, I try to sort of get a feeling for the general trend ("between 3 and 5 years" instead of picking a number, etc) and just mention that the info is vague/conflicted.

[@SchneiderPIG12]

I love the history in the beginning of these guides.

[@weltall7283]

Been really sick the last few days so another tim video to pass the time is always welcome

[@Lucass4856]

I always love the short history lesson

[@lugergetze4822]

The stock grind is PAIN

[@jansvoboda4293]

Just got it today and spent some time binding controls (since I am BR8.0 otherwise) and verifying it in test flight and the arcade against AI. Hope to finally fly it in SIM on weekend.

[@razvy6949]

It's always nice to grab something to eat while watching your vids man, keep up the good work 👍👍👍

[@MJA-0330]

My uncle was a soldier in the Iraqi army during the Iraq Iran war he told me crazy stories of Iranian soldiers attacking Iraqi positions with waves and waves of just infantry sometimes only using knives or swords.

[@TimsVariety]

Yikes!

[@Tigershark_3082]

And now, I finally have an accurate version of Mickey Simon's F-14A Tomcat, from the Area 88 OVAs/Manga (In the Manga, it was specifically intended for Iran, but ended up embargoed and placed into storage in Italy following the revolution)

[@kylebrady969]

Pretty sure you're correct; Mickey's Tomcat was specifically #80 going to Imperial Iran. The IIAF intended to buy 80, and all but the one you mentioned were delivered by the time the revolution occurred. Thus the IRIAF ended up with the 79 number that is often repeated.

[@parchedbowser]

Finally I can apply a Tim's video to a TT vehicle.

[@Pasimportantdutout]

Now this is FAST uploading !

[@explosivecommando9100]

I can feel it'll be an amazing video, also got the plane itself and feels awesome

[@just_zone]

My pc broke half-way through the event... Seeing this video in my feed is breaking my heart.

[@jacknickolstine3355]

Ill have it when i get home from work. Excited to give her a go.

[@missel-skibidi]

just got it yay

[@dotEXCEI_]

An actually decent event jet for once. Very nice

[@jebediahkerman3826]

I always land my F14A on the belly. When enemy jets can get to the airfield from the middle of the map in 2 minutes, waiting half an hour for the plane to sllloooowwlyyy come to a stop after even 350kph landing is just deadly. So I use sliding friction as my drag chute.

[@Янус_Ырт]

You can use drag chute when belly landing, just bind a button to deploy it manually

[@timb3499]

That’s why they call it air realistic.

[@blezzleSR20]

@@Янус_Ырт f14 doesnt have one tho

[@filimental]

I remember you said in your first F-14 review that you were sad that there wasn’t an Iranian F-14 skin available. Well, you got your wish finally!

[@WockhartEnthusiast]

10:04 BRO how did you not pass out here 🤣 mans just did a 720 double backspin while nose down

[@TimsVariety]

Max upgraded pilot ;-)

[@rolandjaycutter3504]

I like to call Iranian F-14s 'Cannibal Cats' do to how their maintained.

[@TimsVariety]

Regardless what anyone thinks about the geopolitical situation, it really is quite impressive that they've kept as many of these flying as they have for so long without any first-party logistical support.

[@FlyMysticalDJ]

Had my first 7 kill game with this. Thanks gaijin!

[@VeryGrainyBread-c6k]

running out of claff is a very pressing issue. 13:43 is very informative

[@TimsVariety]

Typos happen.

[@HornetCinematics]

Nice one, as always!

[@Questionablethingy]

ima wait atleast 2-3 month till i actually fly this cuz on god ima become free food if i play it immediately

[@MajorMorrozov]

Irani tomcats are internationally credited with 165 kills. 185 claimed by iran. And 202 claimed by the pilots. 25 aces were made in just the tomcat (not talking about other types here). These are just tomcat kills.

[@randomexcessmemories4452]

Was hoping you'd talk about this jet in CAS, eapecially with the Yasser rockets. Still, glad to see it!

[@TimsVariety]

I only went into brief detail about the Yasser, to be blunt I had REALLY mixed results with it and my gut tells me that its going to be getting patched a few times over the next month.

[@randomexcessmemories4452]

@@TimsVariety Fair. They're my favorite weapon on the plane, but that's just my CAS bias.

[@charliezw3287]

Proof that they arent even testing these vehicles while we are grinding/PAYING for them. Gaijin at its finest, will enjoy the Yassers in 2 updates when they fix it

[@ninjamice7319]

i pray that we one day get the f14D

[@janusz4156]

55 years of F-14 in 2025.

[@the_realmaquis5224]

I’d also add that manual wing sweep will allow quicker acceleration than automatic on some aircraft, I haven’t flown the 14 so take it with a grain of salt

[@Monkey_Spunk]

This is the best thing I ever saw.

[@jackjoyner1125]

I got this jet using my British Gripen but my USA tree is no further than the first p47

[@tvojejbabkydedko]

i encountered r77 in this yesterday

[@kylebrady969]

Little tidbit from the real history of Iran's F-14's for anyone curious about the missile selection on this vehicle (mainly AIM-9P and AIM-7E-2); Iran had to make *backwards-compatible* the -9P and -7E to their Tomcats, likely taking the missiles from the fleet of F-4E's they also bought from the US when the Shah was in power. It's highly likely that the Tomcats Iran obtained were far enough on the production run of the -14A's that the AIM-7F and AIM-9L were available, and thus those missiles were gonna be sold to the IIAF (and the jets wired to take them). Of course the revolution happened and that sale never went down, so Iran had to make do. All the IRIAF had to work with at first were the ~700(?) AIM-54A's they received before getting cut off by the US, plus the M61A1. The only reason the Hawk (Sedjil) was attempted was due to almost running out of Phoenix missiles during the Iran-Iraq war, and it didn't always work correctly because the AN/AWG-9 tried to read the Sedjil as a Phoenix - which it obviously isn't, so it wouldn't always guide. On another note, for some reason the game technically names this jet the F-14A (Early) IRIAF, yet it has some weaponry that seems to be more associated with the F-14AM upgrade Iran's been working through for a while now. So which one is it, Gaijin? Maybe they just mean Iranian Tomcat generically.

[@ThePopsCast]

I wish the Tomcat's radar was all aspect 😢

[@TimsVariety]

No kidding - if this had an all-aspect PD mode, it would be a totally different beast.

[@OCS-vr7my]

I know it’s not your usual content, but it would be cool to hear your take on the new vehicles being leaked/added to war thunder

[@TimsVariety]

I really don't give the leaks much credibility, 90% of the time they're horribly inaccurate wish-list speculation - or just flat up trolling.

[@Daniel-ie3mt]

It is painful to fly anywhere around 12.3 now! Thanks, Gaijin!

[@weaboo274]

Play 12.7 or 13.0 and bully the F14 grinders while you still can (they're stock asf).

[@TimsVariety]

Yeah, that bracket is going to be FLOODED with these things for at least a week.

[@kurnass2000]

@@TimsVarietydon’t forget the level 10s in the f14 bombing bases

[@CoolLink-Zelda]

I had a match today with only US vs US and everyone was an iranian F14

[@goota-wt]

Hey Tim, quick tip if you’re having trouble getting your radar to look at a new target in a different direction. Bind a button to turn off the radar and when you turn it on the radar will be centred and will allow you to easily acquire a new target, happy hunting 👍

[@TimsVariety]

Yes, I know, I do that. I also sometimes just switch modes.

[@lavapoison]

For the close range things I have conducted a solution! Just use normal ACM, works like a charm for some reason. I’m from Iran, I see cool jet from there me take. Also you didn’t say fakour in Farsi 😞

[@FlyMysticalDJ]

You know, the sedjil seems pretty ok if launched at around 25-30km away. You should do some in depth testing.

[@TimsVariety]

Thats a very good range (medium) for that missile.

[@Verminator4]

It’s still crazy that the F-14 is such a symbol of American patriotism following Top Gun only for the only country still flying it to be one of America’s deadliest enemies. Though I imagine it won’t remain in service too much longer with Iran receiving Russian fighters now.

[@TimsVariety]

Its a really unique historical context for sure.

[@Emma-i9x]

I mean it is outmatched by basically everything in the western arsenal

[@slas3rr_813]

Your voice sounds fine

[@TimsVariety]

Thanks! :-)

[@DewthWish]

Can you do a video on the Mirage 2000-5F now it has MICAs?

[@T_Rannikill]

Im now kinda sad i didn't grind it. I initially didnt because i had the f14a snd thought the fakours would likely be a worse phoenix, but i coulf not be more wrong. I just thought the only thing it had going for it was the yasser rocket

[@AchingScaphoid]

2:30 Debate and speculation, you say? Now that the vehicle is in War Thunder, it's only a matter of time before someone posts the exact specifications. Someone will forsake loyalty to the Ayatollah in the name of winning an internet argument. I can practically guarantee it.

[@TimsVariety]

New conspiracy theory: Gaijin is in cahoots with [Western Power Of Choice] and added this to the game deliberately as an intelligence operation so some player in Iran would leak the Fakour-90 data on the forum.

[@Aeropup]

first match i had in the tomcat, im not joking but the other 15 players on my team were just persicats 😭😭🙏🙏

[@TimsVariety]

Gonna be that way through the weekend I bet...

[@unnamedgaming7650]

Tim, when in VR, are you playing simulator battles or Air RBs? Also btw I know this probably isn’t the best video for this comment since it doesn’t really relate, but I’m not sure if you check your old videos comments or not

[@TimsVariety]

RB, I don't have a good control setup for SB.

[@Hawkeye_Myhawk]

I dont really understand at 10:20 what he means by that 😞 If you hard lock someone you loose datalink? Is that for all planes? But if the fox3 already goes active is datalink still useful?

[@TimsVariety]

I went into more detail in my radar and missile guides, but the TLDR is that for the datalink to stay active, the target has to either be visible to your radar IN TWS MODE, or your radar has to be locked on to it. If you lock on to something else, your radar wont be in TWS mode, won't see the 1st target, and won't be able to send datalink updates to the missile in flight.

[@penial_smasher_500]

can you share keybinds for using the radar to lock on with phoenixs?

[@TimsVariety]

Check my radar guide, link in a pinned comment.

[@glitchhacker300]

Why no red square inside Tws?

[@Lucarionape]

I want this thing so badly, but I wasn’t able to start the event in time and don’t exactly feel comfortable with paying. Well done Gaijin.

[@lgndry_bst2242]

most games if u min max ur speed and height u will get 4 kills from 4 faqours

[@moon-soon]

RIP to anyone who redeemed this coupon and never sold it lol top tier is really really bad

[@gatraidris]

Thank you gaijin, now i can stop using AV-8

[@SourYogurt09]

Attack the d point!

[@csii6478]

I plan on selling mine

[@TimsVariety]

Wait. The price will probably go way up over the next few months. Diamond hands.

[@csii6478]

@@TimsVariety I plan on holding onto it for a bit I am 120k left for the coupon and that’s not including todays task being done yet

[@zmmj2024]

Tim, no mention about the missing 3,400KG bomb that Iran built for and dropped on an Iraqi base using one of their F-14A's? I think it's worth reporting to Gaijin. I can find first hand testimony but no pictures. Maybe you would have better luck? Also everything I can find says the 90s should have 61KG warheads, also the Aim--9s should be all aspect modifications/variants it seems.

[@TimsVariety]

Literally 100% of information on the Internet about the Fakour missiles is speculation. Take all of it with a grain of salt. The snail just had to make an educated guess at its performance/etc. I can't judge them too harshly for it.

[@zmmj2024]

@@TimsVariety that's fair, Iran does make some wild claims about it. I found one claim it uses the R-77 seeker. Thanks for the clarification 🙂 What's interesting is the bomb racks that Iran fitted and they even modified the computer to do the computer drop calculation years before the US did the Bombcat. Also why the big boy bomb when they dropped it according to the Iranian general was more of a toss. Also used up the entire center line of the plane. Interesting bit of history. Do you think it would be enough to one tap a base? 🤔

[@astonbailey-fong1178]

Just picked this up, does anyone have any keybind recommendations for wingsweep controls? This is my first Tomcat.

[@TimsVariety]

I use the mousewheel. PageUp/PageDown are also popular.

[@TheChickenJ]

If I get the teading coupon, am I allowed to play with the vehicle before I sell it or not?

[@TimsVariety]

I don't think you can, because it consumes the "regular" coupon to play it.

[@TheChickenJ]

@@TimsVariety :( hopefully it can sell for lots

[@ricolives1166]

Top tier is absolutely brutal right now. Teams are full f14s vs f14s. This Iran one is obviously more popular and people are just getting 2, 3 even 4 kills from the Fakour missile. I swear that AND the 54 have a 99% hit chance and its a 1 shot. Obviously its huge. But you never see the one going for you. Ironically you see the one going for your teammates. Spamming chaf, being 30 meters off the deck. Even just inches above trees and actually notching honestly does nothing. Absolutely nothing. You might as well not even play anything over 11.7. Thankfully not every game ar 11.3 is a up tier. Thank God.

[@LilBeepBop5063]

F-14A "Streetcat"

[@persian_tankman]

Persian Cat

[@kstyle680]

At 3:28, you can see he is either cycling targets or it is auto targeting? how do you do this type of targeting? info would be much appreciated

[@TimsVariety]

Its called cyclic targeting, I go over it (and many other things) in my complete radar guide. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZbKmZ6VZ6mjnKMsi=fOyCsqpLcPJ8XYRs&t=954

[@cooldude_gaming728]

How much does it cost to purchase this jet in US dollars? I haven’t been able to play during event 😢

[@TimsVariety]

999 GE per star, 8 stars.

[@Smokasaurus]

"unguided rockets" Aren't those just called rockets? 😅

[@TimsVariety]

Yes, but I usually like to be clear, sometimes "missile" and "rocket" are used interchangeably by non-native English speakers.

[@Smokasaurus]

@@TimsVariety I'm just picking. I really enjoy your content. Thanks for doing what you do.

[@logicmaster756]

Hehe time to "seal club" some new players i already feel guilty At least now you can direct more people to the guides instead of making new ones gaijin seems to have made this plane just to boost guide view hmmmmmmm THe voice is fine

[@LarryPigeon1]

Sadly not in the british tree like the russian t90 :(

[@Wombat343]

12.3 is cooked right now, eveygame is just full of tomcats

[@TimsVariety]

The entire Iranian airforce inventory is flying out into EVERY match!

[@Wombat343]

@@TimsVariety 🤣

[@browning2471]

Please fix the capitalization in the title or I will explode Warthunder with my mind

[@TimsVariety]

.. huh? .. I've been capitalizing each word in the title for years now?

[@browning2471]

@@TimsVariety for me in the title it says F-14a instead of F-14A, but maybe that was intended

[@soldat88hun]

I wouldn't call the event fun.

[@TimsVariety]

The prize is fun though, much better than some of the other ones we've had recently.

[@soldat88hun]

@@TimsVariety Yeah. I miss wwm though.

[@SprayandPrayman22]

Watch gaijin nerf it just before it becomes available to everyone.

[@TimsVariety]

Its available to everyone today.

[@SprayandPrayman22]

@@TimsVariety Guess I’m a little too cynical… whoops.

[@Clydemere]

My game lags because of Pheonix spam

[@TimsVariety]

Its going to be a thing for at least a week ...

[@jussi8111]

anyone who wants to experience peak brain rot atm go play toptier

[@JohnZambarau]

Cancel me if you want, but the Iranian F14 should have gone to the russians

[@TimsVariety]

TBH, I really don't think there was *any* good place to put it :-\

[@CobeGt-07]

The Aim-9b is the worst heat seeking missile in the entire game especially at this BR 😂😂

[@TimsVariety]

P not B

[@Drututt.Shorts]

detailed review does not have to be whole history of f14 imo

[@TimsVariety]

There are chapter breaks for folks who want to skip ahead to particular sections.