The Spies and Arms Smugglers Who Kept Iran’s F-14 Tomcats Flying
The U.S. sold Iran dozens of its most capable jet—then spent decades chasing the spies and arms dealers smuggling the parts needed to keep it flying.
BY STEPHEN WITTPUBLISHED: MAR 2, 2023
The F-14 ripped across the sky toward the oil fields of Khark. Ahead, the battle raged, as Saddam’s bombers targeted tankers filled with petroleum leaving the island’s port. Behind the stick was Col. Jalil Zandi, one of the most fearsome pilots ever to fly the F-14 plane. As Zandi approached the battle, no fewer than eight French-made Mirage fighters came to meet him. He pressed on, undeterred.
The F-14, known as the Tomcat, was a marvel of American aircraft engineering. Produced by Grumman Aerospace, the plane had proved, across hundreds of combat engagements, to be an exceptionally lethal aircraft. With its sophisticated radar system and Phoenix guided missiles, the F-14 could bring down a target from 100 miles away. In closer engagements, its superb maneuvering gave it the edge.
Zandi joined the fray. Throughout the 1980s, F-14 pilots had menaced Saddam’s air force, shooting down more than 100 of its jets. It was common for F-14 pilots to engage three or four Iraqi pilots at once, and the technologically outmatched Iraqis often fled. Still, eight Mirage fighters was pushing it. On that morning in 1988 over Khark, the Mirages stayed to fight. Zandi scored two hits with his close-range Sidewinder missiles before his plane was hit by returning fire. His F-14 crippled, Zandi was forced to disengage, and later eject. But he and his radio officer survived.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a42859545/iran-f-14-tomcat-spies/
