A U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat prepares to land on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the Persian Gulf in November 1997. (Bryan Fetter/U.S. Navy)
Hollywood’s favorite Navy jet fighter could fly again under a bipartisan bill approved by the U.S. Senate and awaiting a vote in the House.
“The Maverick Act” would preserve three retired F-14 Tomcat carrier-launched strike fighters in hopes that there are enough parts to get at least one of the two-seat, twin-engine, sweep-wing jets back in the air.
“Maverick” is the call sign of the fictional Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise in two “Top Gun” movies. The original 1986 film and the 2022 sequel together earned just under $1.9 billion at the box office worldwide. Paramount Pictures announced last month that “Top Gun 3” is in development and would star Cruise again as “Maverick.” No release date has been set.
Tom Cruise walks the red carpet at the advance premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick” at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., on May 4, 2022. (Keenan Daniels/U.S. Navy)
Though the movies both featured the F-14, the Tomcat itself disappeared from the U.S. Navy fleet at a retirement ceremony at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va., on Sept 22, 2006.
Sailors who worked on or flew the F-14 were sad to see it go.
Gary Rollins, 72, of Virginia Beach was on the crew loading weapons onto F-14s while serving on the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the late 1980s.
“There was no plane that could outfly the Tomcat — it could turn a circle in a quarter of a mile,” he said by phone Friday night. “It was pilot friendly and ground-crew friendly.”
Rollins said that as the Tomcats aged, they would sometimes leak hydraulic fluid.
“But we all get old and squeaky over time,” he said with a laugh.
Under legislation proposed by Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., three F-14Ds parked at the sprawling aircraft “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona would be handed over to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission in Huntsville, Ala.
The bill would reclassify the three planes as excess federal property and be transferred to the commission under a requirement that there be no cost to the federal government.
The Navy would not be involved in any repair or restoration but would be allowed to provide some spare parts and maintenance manuals.
The act would allow the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission to repair the F-14s and put them on static display. It would also approve an effort to return one of the Tomcats to flying condition for appearances at air shows and commemorative events. However, it bars the restoration of the jet’s weapons systems and other offensive capabilities.
Rollins said that if there’s a plan to try to make a Tomcat airworthy again, there will be many former sailors who would want to volunteer to make it happen.
“Oh God, yes,” he said. “Lots of them. You don’t ever forget how to do that stuff. I think they could make it fly.”
The legislation received unanimous approval from the Senate in April. It’s now awaiting action in the House, where the bill is being carried by Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, R-Ariz.
A U.S. Navy F-14A Tomcat flies over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., in May 1996. (Vernon Pugh/Department of Defense)
“I want to thank Senator Sheehy and his colleagues for passing this legislation aimed at preserving for history one of the most iconic aircraft ever flown,” Hamadeh said in a statement.
Complicating matters is that before the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the United States had provided F-14s to the American-backed government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. When the Shah was overthrown, the jets fell into the hands of the new regime led by anti-American Islamist clerics.
Iran was able to obtain spare parts on the black market, leading Congress in 2008 to ban the selling of any F-14s or parts outside of the United States.
A few models were sent to U.S. museums, but others were dismantled to make them unflightworthy. The three jets Congress wants to save were to be cut into 2-foot by 2-foot pieces under a $1 million contract.
Concerns about jets or spare parts of F-14s being obtained by Iran have been reduced by reports from U.S. Central Command that Iran’s last 10 remaining F-14s were likely destroyed in attacks on Iranian airfields as part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that began Feb. 28.
“Top Gun” and its sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” are being shown in AMC Theatres nationwide for a limited one-week run beginning May 13, marking 40 years since the original film first took flight in 1986.
An F-14 Tomcat model on display during a July 4 celebration at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, in 2022. (Rafael Avelar/U.S. Navy)
