The F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-place fighter designed to attack and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in all weather conditions.

The Tomcat consists of a high forward nacelle containing the radar and cockpits, and two widely spaced engines arranged around a flat fuselage that contains the variable geometry mechanism. The fuselage alone forms over half of the aircraft's lifting surface. The space between the engines allows for carriage of many external stores in a less aerodynamically intrusive manner than on the wings, in a manner reminiscent of the A-5 Vigilante. The variable geometry wings would have required complex pylons to remain aligned with the airstream, as on the F-111B. The F-14 has an additional pair of hardpoints on the fixed vane portion of the wing.

Though designed as an interceptor for high speed at the expense of manoeuvrability, the F-14 was one of the most manoeuvrable and agile aircraft of its generation. This was a consequence of the requirement for low landing speeds. The flat, pancake-like section between the engines acts as an airfoil to provide additional lift, giving the Tomcat an effective wing area about 40% greater than its actual wing dimensions. This results in relatively low effective wing loading. The Tomcat also has a Mach Sweep Programmer (MSP) that automatically adjusts the wing angle for optimum flight performance (the only VG aircraft so equipped a similar system was tested but not used for the Panavia Tornado ADV), and movable glove vanes that offset the migration of the center of lift rearwards as airspeed increased. Pilots could also manually deploy them for extra assist in turns. However, the benefits were not considered worth the maintenance workload caused by the vanes and they were subsequently removed on later variants. Most variable-geometry aircraft are optimised for fast, low-altitude attack, emphasizing good gust response rather than manoeuvrability.

Despite the Tomcat's considerable size, its agility compares well to many other fighters, although that created problems for the troublesome and unreliable TF30 turbofans, which were subject to compressor stalls in violent manoeuvres or high alpha. Once the reliable F110 engines arrived, which also provided the F-14 with the full thrust for which it was designed, the full capability of the aircraft became apparent. The plane accelerates and decelerates very rapidly, and while it can't match it in roll, is said to be able to consistently fight F-16Cs to a draw close in while retaining its speed, endurance and avionics advantages. In addition, early in its development, an F-14 easily defeated a slatted F-4J Phantom in mock air-to-air combat. Although the F-14 is capable of Mach 2.4+ dashes in a clean configuration, experience has shown that very little time is spent above Mach 2. Despite its agility in the air, the F-14 is notoriously difficult to land on a carrier deck and its service has been marred by numerous landing accidents.

The Tomcat was intended as an uncompromising air superiority fighter and interceptor, charged with defending carrier battle groups against Soviet Navy aircraft armed with cruise missiles. It carried the Hughes AN/AWG-9 long-range radar originally developed for the F-111B, capable of detecting bomber-sized targets at ranges exceeding 160 km (100 miles), tracking 24 targets and engaging six simultaneously. In a now famous test, an F-14 simultaneously shot down five of six target drones. However, what was not commonly disclosed is that the drones were flying dumb profiles; not jamming or evading the missiles, unlike an actual target would.

The F-14's primary weapon has been the AIM-54 Phoenix missile, capable of engaging a target at up to 200 km (120 statute miles). It was removed from service on 30 September 2004, replaced by the lower-range but much more accurate and manoeuvrable AIM-120 AMRAAM. The F-14 was the only aircraft to carry the AIM-54, which was designed as an integral part of the Tomcat weapons system. Although it could carry up to six of these large weapons, its heavy weight only enabled the F-14 to land on a carrier with two. Medium-range armament was provided by the AIM-7 Sparrow semi-active radar homing missile (also replaced by the AMRAAM). For short ranges, it carried AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared missiles and a single M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon.

Though designed with some air-to-ground capability, the F-14 did not take that role until late in its career. Tomcats have now been equipped to carry the LANTIRN targeting system for use by laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided weapons. Some F-14's are also equipped to carry the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) pod, giving the Navy what was then its only manned tactical reconnaissance platform.

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