Summary and Key Points You Need to Know: In the early 1990s, Grumman proposed the "Super Tomcat for the 21st Century" (ST21) to modernize the F-14 Tomcat. This upgrade aimed to transform the Tomcat into a formidable multirole fighter with enhanced avionics, radar systems, and aerodynamic improvements.

-A more advanced variant, the ASF-14, was also proposed, featuring new engines, thrust vectoring, and advanced electronics.

-Despite its potential, the Navy opted for the more cost-effective F/A-18 Super Hornet, prioritizing reliability and efficiency.

-While the ASF-14 offered unmatched speed, range, and maneuverability, changing priorities and the push for stealth meant it never became a reality.

Not long ago, we explored the reasons the legendary F-14 Tomcat found itself sent out to pasture decades before its fighter classmates from the 1970s, but there’s more to the tale of Grumman’s incredible fighter and its efforts to find a place in a post-Cold War fleet. In the early 1990’s, Grumman proposed a new iteration of the famed Top Gun fighter that was not only modern enough to still be in service today, it would have marked a vast improvement in performance and capability over even Maverick’s highly capable F-14D.

While the F-14D took on the title “Super Tomcat,” this effort to modernize the F-14 began under the moniker “ST21,” which, appropriately enough, stood for “Super Tomcat for the 21st Century,” and make no mistake — that’s exactly what it could have been.

In 1988, a joint team from McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics was awarded a development contract for what was to become the A-12 Avenger II, not to be confused with Lockheed’s proposed A-12 of the 1960s, which sought to arm an SR-71 sibling jet with air-to-air weapon systems. Once completed, the Navy’s A-12 would have been a flying wing-design reminiscent of Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit or forthcoming B-21 Raider, though much smaller and more triangular; earning it the nickname “Flying Dorito.”

Once completed, the A-12 would have actually been the world’s first true stealth fighter, thanks to the inclusion of onboard radar and the ability to leverage AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles — but by 1991, the Flying Dorito was shot down by its own massive budget overruns and technical delays. You can read more about that........

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