(Chris Range) wrote in message . com...
I have an utterly stupid question. What is the difference between
these two fighters? From a distance, they look exactly the same.


Well, in rather simplistic terms the F-15 Eagle is a terrestrial-based
(land dependent) USAF premiere air superiority fighter that was later
adapted into a limited strike aircraft in the E-model. A further
paint-scraped version was used for a series of world speed and height
records before losing them to the Su-27 Flanker.
The F-14, OTOH, is a naval carrier-based fleet defense interceptor
with swing-wings, a backseat RIO, and a nasty ultra long-range
Maverick missile for knocking out (back a couple decades ago)
predicted enemy "Bear" long-range Soviet bombers. Both aircraft are 3
decades old and need replacing.
Now, the USAF has a rather pathetic F-22 Raptor to fill the F-15 role
while everyone else is going with the more sensible cost-effective
VTOL F-35 Griffin* that is a true multirole aircraft.
The USAF, naturally being embarassed as hell, has subsequently tried
to sell the US taxpayer on a strike version, naval version, and even a
bomber version of the F-22 while simulateneously trying to justify the
astronomical unit cost of each Raptor approaching $200 million!!!
The number 22 seems unlucky as we have both the F-22 and V-22. We need
to axe them both... oops, sorry for going off on a tangent.

Rob

* current probable designation