The Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter is a small, highly aerodynamic and maneuverable jet which
was built around two compact and high thrust General Electric J85 engines.
The F-5 was designed from the ground up to be an easy to maintain, simple to fly, inexpensive
multirole fighter.
With its origins dating back to the 1950s the F-5 has stood the test of time, it has
become a popular export aircraft for many nations and is still used today by the United
States as an adversary or aggressor aircraft.
Recently a company known as Tactical Air Support or Tac Air has been outfitting its fleet of
F-5s with advanced avionics and sensors, bringing this versatile 3rd generation fighter well
into 4th plus generation territory, at a fraction of the cost of contemporary fighters.
Tac Air has dubbed their modified F-5 the F-5AT or Advanced Tiger.
Today we will take a look at these modifications made by Tac Air, and how the F-5AT could be
a sensible addition to countries that need to upgrade their air forces due to the rise
of near peer threats.
Today, Tactical Air Support or Tac Air owns and operates some 26 F-5s, many of which are
lower time versions of the Navy and Marine Adversary Aircraft.
The upgrades which take the F-5 into the Advanced Tiger category include open architecture mission
computers, datalinks, tailored operational flight programs which allow for integration
of advanced radar systems including Mechanically Electronically Scanned Array or MESA radars,
Infra Red Search And Track or IRSTs, RWR, and EA.
Additionally , HOBS simulated weapons employment can be configured.
In keeping with cockpit modernization trends, the F-5AT makes use of the Garmin G3000 which
includes touch screen displays and a modern user interface to present critical information
in a clear format to the pilot.
The displays are adapted for use with gloves, and are compatible with night vision goggles.
Additionally, the G3000 integrates with the F-5AT s mission computer, while making possible
advanced tactical communication, mapping, and radar features.
It should be noted that these components are modular, meaning the cost and time to convert
an F-5E to an F-5AT is minimal.
When it comes to weapons, the typical F-5 features two internal 20mm M39A2 Revolver
Cannons in the nose.
Externally the F-5 has 7 hard points which can carry up to 7,000 pounds.
Some loadout options for air to ground missions include 70mm or 127mm rockets in pods, the
Mark 80 series of unguided bombs, AGM-65 Mavericks.
For air to air missions, the short range heat seeking AIM -9 Sidewinders, the medium range
AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, and interestingly the F-5AT can also carry Russian and Chinese
air to air missiles including the AA-9 Amos, the AA-10 Alamo, and AA-11 Archer.
Defensively the F-5AT is equipped with the ALR-87 Radar Warning Receivers, the AN/APQ-159
radar, and the ALE-40 chaff/flare dispensers.
Additionally, several types of Electronic Warfare pods can be carried, further enhancing
the F-5AT s survivability.
Performance wise the F-5AT is capable of speeds of up to Mach 1.65, a service ceiling of 52,000
feet, and a combat range of about 120 nautical miles.
Today most of Tac Air s F-5s have been converted to the AT configuration.
Additionally, In 2018 Tac Air secured a five year contract with the Navy to provide adversary
training to the fighter weapons school, better known as Top Gun.
Aside from 4th generation capabilities and excellent maneuverability, perhaps the most
attractive feature of the F-5AT is its operating costs.
The F-5 was designed to be a low cost, easy to maintain fighter and this has been proven
to be true in its over 50 years of operational service.
Even with the advanced avionics the F-5AT would cost a fraction to operate as compared
to any other fourth generation platform.
The combination of low cost, high performance, advanced avionics should be more than enough
for the US Air Force and America s allies to take a long hard look at the F-5AT.
The US military could use the F-5AT as a high end adversary aircraft, simulating the advanced
avionics found on near peer threats.
As an export or upgrade option, the F-5AT makes sense for current operators of the F-5,
which would be able to quickly upgrade their air defense fleets to higher fourth generation
standards, again at the fraction of the cost it would take to purchase all new designs
and airframes.
Additional cost savings would be seen in terms of maintaining existing supply chains, and
training regimens for pilots and maintainers would largely remain the same.
Today there are some 400 F-5s still in service globally, which represent a large pool of
aircraft that could be upgraded.
So where did the F-5 come from?
What were the factors that led to its development?
Lets take a quick look at the history of this venerable fighter.
By the mid 1950s the Air Force had developed a pattern of creating bigger, heavier, and
more expensive fighter jets.
Edgar Schmued, then the VP of engineering for Nothrop decided to reverse that trend
- Mr Schmued was uniquely qualified to do this, having come from North American Aviation
where he designed the legendary P-51 Mustang and F-86 Sabre fighters.
To break the trend, he assembled a dream team of engineers.
The requirements were daunting: Produce a fighter that had high performance, enhanced
maneuverability, be highly durable, and still be less expensive than contemporary fighters
of the time - such as the F-4.
On top of this Schmued also required that the new aircraft have engineered growth potential
to allow for upgrades that would extend its service life for over 10 years.
This is hard to imagine today, since modern airframes have service lives that are measured
in decades, but back then it seemed like aircraft were being replaced every few years, which
ultimately would be financially unsustainable.
The requirement for designing prolonged modular upgrades in an aircraft was a relatively new
concept at the time.
The actual design effort began officially in 1955 from a Navy requirement that a new
fighter be developed which would be capable of operating out of smaller escort carriers,
as existing fighters were too large and heavy.
Northrop s entry into this requirement was given the internal designation N-156, which
had several sub variants.
The two seat trainer version, known as the N-156T was selected by the Air Force as a
replacement trainer for the T-33 in 1956, and in 1959 the N-156T performed it s first
flight, where it was designated the YT-38 Talon.
Over 1100 Talon s would be produced, ending production in 1972.
The Talon is still in use today.
Meanwhile, In an effort to contain Soviet expansion, Congress enacted the Military Assistance
Program or MAP.
The MAP put out requirements for a low cost fighter which could be supplied to less developed
nations.
The N-156F was exactly such an airplane, and in 1958 three prototypes were ordered.
In 1959 at Edwards Air Force Base the first N-156F flew, breaking the sound barrier on
its first flight.
In 1962 the requirement for a low cost export fighter was revived.
Tensions were mounting in Southeast Asia and after winning the F-X competition the N-156F
was designated the F-5A.
Production began that year, and over 620 F-5A s were built, along with 200 F-5B two seat
trainer versions.
The F-5A and the two seat F-5B versions proved to be successful export fighters,
Although the US Air Force did not intend to fully adopt the F-5 in large numbers, the
move was seen as a political one to prove the effectiveness of the fighter as an export
option to other nations.
The Air Force initially selected 12 F-5s for combat testing and after being modified with
aerial refueling equipment, upgraded armor and instruments, they were designated F-5Cs.
The evaluation program was known as Skoshi Tiger and this soon became the F-5C s nickname.
The evaluation lasted six months, where the F-5C s flew over 2,600 sorties, with only
7 aircraft lost to ground fire.
The Air Force concluded that the F-5 was an effective ground attack aircraft, it's only
drawback being its limited range if aerial refueling was not available.
Following this evaluation the Philippines acquired F-5s for their air force and by 1967
the South Vietnamese or Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) received F-5s which they
used up until the end of the war.
Next came the F-5E.
Upgrades to the engines, avionics, and structural improvements allow the F-5E to fly faster,
carry more fuel and weapons, and have significantly improved sensors.
All of this was done while keeping the F-5E an easy to maintain, inexpensive to fly, and
highly maneuverable fighter.
The F-5E is still in use today as an aggressor or adversary aircraft by the
US Navy, and is still operational with over 25 countries.
The F-5E s upgrades began around the newest variant of the GE J85 engines of which two
would be used.
The J85-21 produced 5,000 pounds of thrust output and was a substantial increase from
the earlier versions.
Accommodating the new J85 s resulted in the F-5 s fuselage being enlarged and lengthened,
which also allowed for more fuel storage.
The result was that range was increased to over 1500 miles and the new service ceiling
was 51,800 feet.
Aside from the engine upgrades, perhaps the biggest change from the F-5A to the E model
were the avionics, starting with the Emerson Electric AN/APQ-153 series radar and customers
could install other systems as needed.
Additions such as GPS, electronic counter measures,an air to air fire control radar
system, a lead computing gunsight, and an internal navigation system all contributed
to modernizing the F-5.
These upgrades made the fighter more lethal and survivable.
Additionally, The amount of ordinance that could be carried was increased to 7,000lbs
and leading edge extensions were added to enhance maneuverability as well.
Additionally, take off distance was shortened by incorporating a system which allowed the
nose gear to be raised 3 degrees prior to takeoff.
The extension is controlled manually by the pilot and the nose wheel is automatically
retracted as soon as weight was taken off the nosewheel or as part of the landing gear
retraction process.
With its first flight occurring in August of 1972, the new F-5E was given the nickname
Tiger II.
A two seat trainer version was also developed and given the designation F-5F
The F-5E and F Tigers have proved to be a lasting, effective, maneuverable, and easy
to maintain fighter.
The upgrades that would bring it up to the Advanced Tiger could be a game changer for
many nations, including the United States.
What do you think?
Could the fighter designed by the same man who designed the P-51 Mustang continue to
blaze a trail into the mid 21st Century?
Let me know in the comments below.
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