Presenting the G.I. Joe SkyStriker XP-21F Combat Jet. Note that it I did not refer to it as the Pursuit of Cobra or Rise of Cobra SkyStriker as the packaging that this came with no longer refers to either toy-line and as you can see below, the piping of the box has changed.On to the obvious: Critics of the new SkyStriker XP-21F point to the fact that the original SkyStriker XP-14F - inspired by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat - seats two; a pilot and a weapons officer. The SkyStriker XP-21F seats only one. But when you think about it, can you name a G.I. Joe cartoon episode where the SkyStriker XP-14F was depicted with two people in the cockpit instead of one? Because I can't, which makes the SkyStriker XP-21F a better representation of what was used in the cartoons.
The ironic part though about the use of a SkyStriker XP-21F by America's elite forces is that, as mentioned, it is based upon the Grumman F-14 Tomcat which is no longer in use by the United States of America - despite having become an iconic poster boy for the American Navy after Top Gun came out - having been retired from active service in 2006, AND; the only army currently deploying Grumman F-14 Tomcats is the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. Further, the SkyStriker XP-14F gives tribute to the F-14 in it's name. Assuming that the SkyStriker XP-21F does the same, then it's a tribute to an F-21 Kfir (Lion Cub) primarily used by the Israeli Air Force.
