3D-printed F-14 Tomcat uses an FPGA recreation of the ‘world’s first microprocessor’ — CADC’s MP944 chip controls the fighter’s swing-wing system, among other things

Adam Taylor recreated the F-14 Tomcat’s Central Air Data Computer (CADC) in an FPGA.

The system successfully drives the swing-wing mechanism in a 3D-printed scale model.

The open-source release includes VHDL, documentation, and testbenches for all six original CADC chips.

Built on a Spartan-7 platform, the project offers a valuable resource for studying early microprocessor and flight-control design.