a22 F-14A Tomcat Nose
The nose of the F-14A Tomcat is large because it contains a two-person crew and several bulky avionics systems. The main element is the Hughes AN/AWG-9 X band radar; the antenna is a 36 inch wide planar array, and has integrated Identification friend or foe antennas. The AWG-9 has several search and tracking modes, such as Track while scan (TWS), Range-While-Search (RWS), Pulse-Doppler Single-Target Track (PDSTT), and Jam Angle Track (JAT); a maximum of 24 targets can be tracked simultaneously, and six can be engaged in TWS mode up to around 60 miles. Cruise missiles are also possible targets with the AWG-9, which can lock onto and track small objects even at low altitude when in Pulse-Doppler mode.