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The Tomcat was designed to deliver air-to-ground ordnance. During 1973, to attract foreign customers, Pre-Production Tomcat, 157990 was flown with 14 MK 82 500lb bombs mounted on modified hardpoints. During the 1980s the Tomcat community continued air-to-ground ordnance trials with Test & Evaluation and operational squadrons, but at a slow pace. Both Tomcat Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS), VF-124 on the west coast and VF-101 on the east coast, incorporated lessons learned from these trials to develop a training syllabus to turn Tomcat crews into Bombcat crews. Tomcat squadrons on both coasts soon became proficient dropping the MK80 series of iron bombs on target with consistently good results.
With cancellation of the A-12, looming budget cuts and the pending retirement of the Grumman A-6 Intruder, the Tomcat was looked upon to fill the gap. In 1993, Lockheed Martin proposed a modified version of their Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infra-Red for Night, (LANTIRN) pod in use by the USAF since the 1980s. This proposal envisioned only using the AN/AAQ-14 Targeting Pod (LTP), incorporating its own GPS/INS.
Because it was the first squadron to complete the Tactical Advanced Strike Syllabus (TASS), VF-103, was selected to conduct the initial LANTIRN tests. F-14B, 161608, was selected as the test aircraft, and appropriately, “FLIRCAT” nose art was applied to the radome. During tests, 161608, delivered several GBU-16 Laser Guided Bombs (LGB) confirming the potential of the system. Following these successful tests, VF-103 introduced the LANTIRN to fleet service during a six-month cruise aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) commencing June 28, 1996. All subsequent Air Wing deployments included LANTIRN equipped Tomcats. Further upgrades involved the integration of Night Vision Goggles (NVG) with LANTIRN and the development of the LANTIRN 40K, introduced in 2001 for operations above 40,000 feet. In 2003, the GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition or JDAM was added to an already impressive arsenal of Laser and GPS-guided munitions. (Continued on Page 26)