If it wasn't for the old airframes and lack of spare parts, we could have sold her to an allied nation, maybe Israel. The tomkitty would look good in desert camo AND as a friendly blip on the radar at the same time.
I'm eagerly awaiting Marcelo's super hornets for SFP1. In the real world, my contingency plan in the event of a draft was joining the Navy and flying the F-14, with her gone, now it's joining the Air Force and hoping I'll get a raptor or at least settle for an eagle.
Googled. Maybe after 2008 us godless commie tax and spend liberals won't mind the cost of an ST-21 over the superbug. Or maybe if the right people lobbied for her.
And its not like the superbug would go to waste, it'd still replace the early F/A-18s and A-6/EA-6B. Where the F-18E would perform admirably, just not in fleet defence/A2A as a primary role, which it simply is at a disadvantage in.
Giving the ST-21 or what I read would be called the F/A-14D (or F-14E?) thrust vectoring nozzles like the latest flankers or mig-35. 21st century air dominance defined. Who needs stealth?
*goes off to dream of doing cobras, hooks and mongoose manuevers in a tomcat*