No more Tomcats at AMARG

[jslugman]

According to a PA staffer at AMARG the last of the Tomcats went bye-bye in 2009:

Dear Sir

Thank you for your e-mail to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and
Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) regarding the status of the
F-14 "Tomcat" fighters here at the Group facility.

I regret having to inform you that there are currently no F-14s remaining
here at 309 AMARG anymore with exception of AN1K0056 which is being
held by the National Museum of Naval Aviation until the period for enquiries
on contracting the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy, CV-67 for a museum institution has
expired by January 22, 2010 since said unit has been requested to be loaned to the
winning contractor.

All Navy F-14's were slated for demilitarization and ultimately disposal in late
October 2009. Demilitarization involves removal of hazardous materials and
military equipment by 309 AMARG (578th Storage and Disposal Squadron)
personnel. When this process has been completed, the aircraft are removed
to a Navy contractor where they are shredded into metal scrap. Scrap can
then be smelted and recycled. As the respective contractors for the remaining
Navy F-14's companies Titan Works Grays, HVF LLC and L3 Communications have been
awarded the contract for processing the final lot of remaining F-14-airframes which had
been fulfilled by the 4th quarter of FY09.

You may refer to the PIMA Air & Space Museum which is located close to the premises
of the AMARG facility. An F-14 Tomcat has been placed as an exhibition piece there for
visitors to enjoy. For any arrangements you may want to make for a visit to AMARG
please visit www.pimaair.org or call (520) 574-0462.


Sincerely – SrA Tim Vaughan
GS-11- Public Affairs Officer
355 Contracting Squadron
309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG)
http://www.dm.af.mil/units/amarc.asp

[Joe Copalman]

And I'm sure they'll take whatever is scrapped or smelted and launch it on a rocket into the sun, in case the Iranians got a hold of the scrap metal or slag and then reverse-engineered it and somehow adapted it for use on their own F-14s.