Here's Matts response to a similar comment I made a few months reading a very similar article as you. (There seems to be a lot of people who are upset at seeing the Tomcat go, and need someone to pick on about it... like the "newbe" replacing it.)
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I have to laugh because you guys have been suckered by a bunch of guys that can't stand to see the F-14 go.
The truth of the matter is that the SuperHornet and indeed the Hornet itself is a much more capable airframe than the Tomcat ever was in about 90% of combat scenarios. The Tomcat was designed for one thing and one thing only and that was long range fleet defense. It was designed to shoot down Bears and Backfires before they could get into position to launch missles against the fleet. The fact that it was not half had in the BFM arena was not too bad either.
In the Hornet and indeed in the SuperHornet you have much more capable digital avionics (yes I am even including the F-14D) that are easier to upgrade. You are right, the Hornet can not carry the Phoenix but guess what? The AIM-54 has never been fired in combat. Why? Because the ROE make it such that in most cases you will need visual confirmation of the target before engaging. In other words you are in a BFM type of situation where the Hornet excels where we can fly at higher angles of attack and turn corners quicker.
The Tomcat's ability to drop bombs is kind of an "oh by the way" add on capability. In other words accuracy is right out the window when dropping dumb iron. Granted an exceptionally good pilot can drop well anyway but when it comes to hitting your target and collateral damage I would rather have a computer helping me drop the dumb iron.
You want to know where (in my opinion) the Tomcat's only advantage is? Running away. That's right, speed and getting away from the fight.
The one drawback of the Hornet is range and that has been addressed in the SuperHornet. Heck even the radar on the SuperHornet which is already great will get even better when the electronically scanned phased array system comes on line.
I can assure you that Tomcat is NOT the kickassinest bird out there. Heck there are plenty of European and former Soviet bloc aircraft that can outfly it now.
The Tomcat is a beautiful aircraft and it did what it was designed to do well but its time is certainly over.
Matt
Edited by - Matt Stevenson on 01/12/2002 21:21:31
Edited by - Matt Stevenson on 01/12/2002 21:22:27
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In case you wanna see just what I wrote as well, here is the link to that discussion. http://www.airwarriors.com/cgi-bin/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=780&FORUM_ID=6&CAT_ID=1&Topic_Title=Super+Hornet+not+so+super%3F%3F&Forum_Title=Miscellaneous
