In late 1995, the F-14 took on a new, and completely different role in military combat over targets in Bosnia... they became bombers.  Dubbed "Bombcats", these new bombers dropped LGB "smart bombs" while other aircraft painted the targets with lasers.

On September 6, 1995, NATO decided to start a phase of heavy bombing over Bosnia once the clouds cleared.  It started when Bosnian Serbs refused  demands set by the United Nations.  William Perry,  the Secretary of Defense, said "The Serbs will pay a heavy price if they fail to remove heavy weapons from the hills around Sarajevo."  For the first time in the History of the F-14 Tomcat (or Bombcat), the fighter was used to bomb Bosnian Serb positions.  Flying from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, it was joined by the F-16 and its Navy Counterpart, the F-18 Hornet.  Some intended targets included Banja Luka, a Bosnian Serb stronghold northwest of Sarajevo where the Serbs had sophisticated SA-6 anti-aircraft missile launchers and radars.