1978年，当伊朗民众愈加激烈地反对巴列维政权后，美国的训练人员和技术人员都离开了伊朗。伊朗和美国之间的军事紧密度和联系被废止，向伊朗输送F-14零配件也停下来了。革命胜利后一年半，伊拉克的萨达姆.侯赛因政权准备向伊朗发动一场进攻，很多人认为伊朗的F-14机群自美国人离开后就被永远停飞了。
When demonstration of the Iranian people against the Pahlavi regime became more serious in 1978, the American trainers and technical advisers left Iran. Military tights and contracts between Iran and United States were nullified, and provision of F-14 spare parts to Iran stopped. A year and a half after the victory of the revolution, the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein prepares to launch an extensive offensive against Iran. Many believed that the F-14 fleet of Iran had been grounded forever after the departure of the Americans.
F-14是那个时代最先进的战斗机，它仍旧是其中最昂贵的之一。然而，这个系列不是关于F-14的。这是关于那些驾驶着F-14却没有合适的装备的少数人群。面对着大量的困难，驾驶着这种飞机进入最糟糕的战场环境里。
The F-14 was the most advanced fighter jet of its time, it still is one of the most the expensive ones. This series, however, is not about the F-14s. It’s the story of the few men who have to operate their F-14s without proper equipment. Challenging the ants, vector their aircraft into erock's worst nightmare.
F-14A 3-6041是“Toufan”工程的试验机，这个工程在新千年初启动，目的是为了将R-27R导弹和F-14融为一体，但结果并不成功。
初胜/First Kills
1980年9月21日14:00，使用着以色列空军的战术，伊拉克空军攻击了伊朗的空军基地。尽管出现了制裁和组织方面的问题，但是F-14在同一天下午从施拉子飞到哈克岛上空防范伊拉克人可能发动的空袭。第二天，当鬼怪II和F-5在一次令人感到恐惧的“阿伯兹之影”行动中攻击伊拉克的目标时，F-14飞行员们没有让任何飞机接近他们国家的重要地点。
September 21st, 1980, 2:00 PM. Using the tactical of Israeli Air Force, the Iraqi Air Force attacks Iranian Air Forces bases. Despite the sanction and the organization problem, the F-14s from Shiraz Air Base fly over Khark Island in the afternoon of the same day to prevent the probable attack by Iraq. On the following day, while the Phantoms and F-5s were attacking their targets in Iraq in a fearsome operation codenamed ‘the shadow of Arboz’, the pilots of F-14s did not let any aircraft approach vital parts in the country.
伊拉克人的攻击结果是令人感到耻辱地糟糕，根据一些证据和文件显示，伊拉克的第一次空中入侵是在1979年4月于梅胡阿目的巴斯阿巴马特关口上空，然而，从1980年4月起，伊拉克就开始在库齐斯坦上空活动。这里的简达姆观察站报告说，9月7日晚，伊拉克直升机搭载着武器和弹药来支援反伊斯兰共和国的抵抗力量，伊朗军队总参谋长下令空军通过空中掩护来阻止这样的活动。
Iraq’s attack has a humiliating result. According to the evidences and documents, the first Iraqi aerial invasion happened in April 1979 in Bass-Abamart customs of Mehuam, however the Iraqi activities began in mid April 1980 in Khuzestan. Jan-Dum stations in Khuzestan reported that during the night, Iraqi helicopters carried weapons and ammunition to rebels who fought the Islamic Republic. The Joint Chief of Staff orders the Air Force to stop such activities by aerial coverage.
默罕默德.雷扎.阿塔伊将军(F-14飞行员)：
开战2月前，我们开始一个接一个地检查飞行员，一些飞行员有18个月没升空了，一些飞机被停飞太久。技术人员很快就把飞机准备好了，而我们检查完了飞行员，把他们派到战区里。"
Gen Mohammadereza Ataayee (F-14 pilot):
"Two months before the war broke out, we start to check the pilots one by one. Some pilots had not flown for 18 months, some planes had been on the ground for long. The technical guys got the planes ready fast, and we checked the pilots, and sent them to the war zone. "
F-14飞行员默罕默德雷扎.阿塔伊将军在1980年9月9日和后座雷达拦截官帕沙珀尔一起击落了一架伊拉克米格-23，成就了历史上首个可变后掠翼战机之间的空战战果，也是AIM-54不死鸟导弹的首个空战战果
汤姆.库珀，《战斗中的波斯猫》一书的作者和研究者，他认为F-14的第一个战果就是这些直升机里的其中之一----一架伊拉克的米里直升机。在1980年夏，伊拉克陆军用火炮轰击伊朗边境，和伊朗的边境守卫部队直接交火，而且还轰炸了边境处被打散的第92装甲师。伊朗的政治人物不想把战事扩大，作为对这些攻击的回应，伊朗空军对一些伊拉克的边境站点进行了有限的空袭。
Tom Cooper, the researcher and writer of 《Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in combat》, believes that the first victim of the F-14s is one of those helicopters----an Iraqi Mil helicopter. In the summer of 1980, the Iraqis Army shells Iranian borders stations with mortars, fights Iranian border guards directly, and bombed the scattered forces of 92nd Armor Division positioned on the border. The Iranian political figures do not want the expansion of skirmishes. In response to the attacks, The Iranian air force lunches some limited offensives against Iraqi stations.
默罕默德.雷扎.阿塔伊：
"当时的战斗在边境周围，伊拉克人轰炸了我们的边境站点，而我们还击了。当鬼怪II前去轰炸的时候，我们去掩护他们。我们几乎所有的飞行员都参战了，所有的飞机也变得可以使用。"
Mohammadereza Ataayee:
"The conflict was around the border then. Iraq bombed our stations and we retaliated. When the Phantoms went for bombing, we covered them. We brought almost all pilots into action, all planes became operative, too.."