Northrop F-5E / F-5F Tiger II
More thrust, radar and agility — the Tiger II became the classic aggressor · First flight 1972 · In service 1973
The F-5E Tiger II was Northrop's answer to the International Fighter Aircraft requirement: a larger, more powerful F-5 with uprated J85-GE-21 engines, more fuel, a wider wing with leading-edge extensions for better manoeuvrability, and an Emerson AN/APQ-153 radar. It first flew on 11 August 1972; the two-seat F-5F followed on 25 September 1974.
Northrop built 792 F-5Es, 146 F-5Fs and 12 RF-5Es, and the type was also built under licence in Switzerland (91), South Korea (68) and Taiwan (308) — about 1,400 in all before production ended in 1987. Because it matched the size and performance of the MiG-21, the USAF flew F-5Es with its 64th and 65th Aggressor Squadrons at Nellis from 1975 to 1990, and the US Navy used them at its Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN).
Switzerland operated 98 F-5Es and 12 F-5Fs at its peak. From 1994 the Swiss Air Force display team Patrouille Suisse flew six F-5Es in its red-and-white colours, replacing the Hawker Hunter. Switzerland is replacing the type with the F-35A, and in 2024 it began shipping 22 retired F-5E/Fs to the United States.
