Except when the fookin radar didn't work, it didn't matter how good it
was on paper. In the 12 months I flew the F-16, I launched w/o a radar
exactly ZERO times, in about 450 hrs...I had a radar fail once in that
time. It was standard to launch off the boat(VF-31, USS Forrestal) w/o
a stinkin radar about 30 days into the cruise. I saw better radar
availability with the F-4S(Awg-10) than I EVER did with the
AWG-9...APG-71 had MUCH better availability than the HAWG-9....The
inspired by the A-6, designed in the late 60s, F-14, never to be
modified in the 2 decades it existed, was an embarrassment when
compared to aircraft like the F-16C and F-15C/E....even the 'D'
model...too little too late. If the F-14A became the 'C' model like it
was supposed to, along the lines of USAF and now F-18 A/C, the F-18F
wouldn't exist.

For whatever reason, the F-14 seemed to be the red-haired stepchild when it
came to system upgrades. The engines were late (the F-14B was supposed to
come along with roughly airframe 49). WCS got the minimum incremental
upgrades in software (tape driven for God's sake!). Never got AAMRAM. A
lot of program managers are wearing the legion of merit when they should be
reading letters of reprimand.

The F-15 is a nice example of how to manage an airframe. The Turkey an
example on how to neglect one.

R / John