| Role | Interceptor, air superiority and multirole combat aircraft |
|---|---|
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Grumman Aerospace Corporation |
| First flight | 21 December 1970 |
| Introduction | 22 September 1974 |
| Retired | 22 September 2006 (United States Navy) |
| Status | In service with the Iranian Air Force |
| Primary users | United States Navy (historical) Imperial Iranian Air Force Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force |
| Number built | 712 |
| Unit cost | US$38 million (1998) |
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer)
- Length: 62 ft 9 in (19.1 m)
- Wingspan: ** Spread: 64 ft (19.55 m)
- Swept: 38 ft (11.58 m)
- Height: 16 ft (4.88 m)
- Wing area: 565 ft² (54.5 m²)
- Airfoil: NACA 64A209.65 mod root, 64A208.91 mod tip
- Empty weight: 43,735 lb (19,838 kg)
- Loaded weight: 61,000 lb (27,700 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 74,350 lb (33,720 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans
- Dry thrust: 13,810 lbf (61.4 kN) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 27,800 lbf (123.7 kN) each
- Maximum fuel capacity: 16,200 lb internal; 20,000 lb with 2x 267 gallon external tanks[34]
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.34 (1,544 mph, 2,485 km/h) at high altitude
- Combat radius: 500 nmi (575 mi, 926 km)
- Ferry range: 1,600 nmi (1,840 mi, 2,960 km)
- Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,200 m)
- Rate of climb: >45,000 ft/min (229 m/s)
- Wing loading: 113.4 lb/ft² (553.9 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.92
- Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan 6-barreled gatling cannon, with 675 rounds
- Hardpoints: 10 total: 6× under-fuselage, 2× under nacelles and 2× on wing gloves[155][N 2] with a capacity of 14,500 lb (6,600 kg) of ordnance and fuel tanks[156]
- Missiles: ** Air-to-air missiles: AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder
- Loading configurations:
- 2× AIM-9 + 6× AIM-54 (Rarely used due to weight stress on airframe)
- 2× AIM-9 + 2× AIM-54 + 3× AIM-7 (Most common load during Cold War era)
- 2× AIM-9 + 4× AIM-54 + 2× AIM-7
- 2× AIM-9 + 6× AIM-7
- 4× AIM-9 + 4× AIM-54
- 4× AIM-9 + 4× AIM-7
- Bombs: ** JDAM precision-guided munition (PGMs)
- Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
- Mk 80 series of unguided iron bombs
- Mk 20 Rockeye II
- Others:
- Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS)
- LANTIRN targeting pod
- 2× 267 US gal (1,010 l; 222 imp gal) drop tanks for extended range/loitering time
- Hughes AN/APG-71 radar
- AN/ASN-130 INS, IRST, TCS
- Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) upgrade