Did this military aircraft retire?
Did the SH-3 Sea King retire or is it still in service, and did they retire the F-14 Tomcat?
Public Comments
- They are still in service.
- f-14 is now a retired plane....no longer at air shows either...it was retired early 2005.....sh-3 is in service till 2009
- Not certain about the SH-3, however, the F-14 has been drawn down to 2 squadrons and is set for retirement sometime within 2007.
- The Sea King has been replaced by the SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopters as the anti-submarine warfare helicopter. The transition was completed in the mid-1990s. The remaining Sea King helicopters have been configured for logistical support and search and rescue missions. Current plans are to phase out the H-3 by 2009. The last two F-14 squadrons returned from their last deployment on 10 March 2006. VF-213 Blacklions transition to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in April 2006, and the VF-31 Tomcatters give up their Tomcats in September 2006. By the end of 2006, Iran will be the only country operating the F-14.
- Both are currently still active
- Not sure about the F-14, but the SH-3 is a variant of the UH model Black Hawk helicopter and is still in service.
- Yes and I don't beleive the designers,Grumman,the navy or pilots ever fully understood the thing. When you completed wiring in something like a cannon firing module, had it inspected and approved by first the plant inspector and then the navy, often a hydraulic or fab man would come along and ask you to remove it as its in the way.Guess what! the navy pays for it when they approve it, and when you re-install it through same procedure again they buy it again. This is why the costs over-run and something new and better is on the drawing board to replace it. The navy was in full agreement to this constant upgrade.
- I dont know about the helicopter, but the F14 is still very much in service. military aircraft are constantly updated. The F14 is now for example the F14 type H. It will retire eventually once the F18 Hornet becomes the main carrier based fighter/bomber.
- From what I was told originally, the Tomcat was retired back in early 2005, but found this article on Fox news(Link below) that is dated from this past March and from what I can conclude, yes it has been retired from carrier action. Does it still fly elsewhere? Not sure (but I'd be curious to know, that was one of my favorite planes!) As for the Sea King, I really don't know-sorry. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,187521,00.html
