And by the way, you didn't answer my question.
Are you a journalist?
No, just a mil-av junkie with the F-14 as my pet subject for the last 30 odd years. Engineer by profession.
Just surprised at the coincidence that someone should suddenly choose this thread to make a first post after such a time
I'm not trolling, threads relative to the F-14 rarely occur these day so I didn't feel I had anything to add before. Everyone has to have a first post, I wouldn't have bothered but I thought it was relevant to the few coherent arguments being put forward.
I suggest you do a quick read up of their known aircraft mod capabilities, and their missile capabilities
I'm pretty well versed on Iranian capabilities, Like I said I'm an F-14 nut so as the only operator of the F-14 outside of US I've read just about every published literature on Iranian employment of the Tomcat. In 1988 the Iranian F-14's were absorbed in air defence and too valuable a radar asset to be employed against ships.
A well briefed captain of a US cruiser taking his ship into potential hostilities should have known which Iranian aircraft presented a real threat to his ship. If it was an F-4 or F-5 he might have had something to worry about but not an F-14.