From April 1, 2017: Plans To Capitalize On Budget-Conscious Administration

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic

With the cost of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter continuing to be a bone of contention for the Trump administration, Grumman says it will re-start production of the venerable F-14 Tomcat for the U.S. Navy.

When it ended production in 1991, the Tomcat cost about $13 million per copy. “That translates to about $22 million in 2016 dollars, and that’s a significant cost savings to the taxpayer,” said a Pentagon official who spoke to ANN on the condition of anonymity.

That cost will likely rise due to the addition of stealth characteristics necessary for today’s military environment, the official said, but it would still be substantially less than the cost of an F-35C variant, or even the current F/A-18 Super Hornets. “Besides, what’s cooler than a Tomcat?” the official said. “Back when Top Gun came out, everyone wanted to be Tom Cruise and fly an F-14. It was the best recruiting tool we had for Naval Aviation maybe ever.”

White House Spokesman Sean Spicer said President Trump was evaluating the idea to see if it fit in with his overall military goals and budget targets, but that the President overall was willing to listen to the idea. “It may not be the fastest or most stealthy anymore, but there are still plenty of scenarios where a Tomcat would be a very effective combat airplane, such as against ISIS, which doesn’t fly anything,” Spicer said.

FMI: www.navy.mil