Description
SUPER TOMCAT Patch – Plastic Backing
Aviators! Are you looking for a high-quality patch you’ll proudly wear or display? Look no further than the Super Tomcat Patch!
- 4″
- Embroidered
- US Naval Aviator Owned Business
- Sew On
- Plastic Backing (increases rigidity; the patch lasts longer and stays flat)
- Reproduction
In the early 1990s, Grumman proposed a few improved Super Tomcat versions. The first was the Quickstrike, which would have been an F-14D with navigational and targeting pods, additional attach points for weapons, and added ground attack capabilities to its radar, turning the Tomcat into a multirole strike fighter. The Quickstrike was to fill the role of the A-6 Intruder after it was retired. This was not considered enough of an improvement by Congress, so the company shifted to the Super Tomcat 21 (ST-21) proposed design. The ST-21 was a proposed lower cost alternative to the Navy Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), and would mostly have the same shape and body as the Tomcat, and an upgraded AN/APG-71 radar. The improved General Electric F110-GE-429 engines[N 3] were to provide a supercruise speed of Mach 1.3 and featured thrust vectoring nozzles. The version would have reshaped leading-edge gloves, increased fuel capacity and modified control surfaces for improved takeoffs and lower landing approach speed. The Attack Super Tomcat 21 (AST-21) version was the last proposed Super Tomcat design, and was meant to be a more attack-oriented version of the ST-21 with possibly an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar from the canceled A-12 attack aircraft. The (A)ST-21 was to be able to be rebuilt from existing F-14 airframes.
