Νορθρόπ F-20 Τίγρης – Φωτογραφίες & Βίντεο

Teh Νόρθροπ F-20 Τίγρης (initially F-5G) was a privately financed light fighter, designed and built by Northrop. Its development began in 1975 as a further evolution of Northrop’s F-5E Tiger II, featuring a new engine that greatly improved overall performance, and a modern avionics suite including a powerful and flexible radar. Compared with the F-5E, the F-20 was much faster, gained beyond-visual-range air-to-air capability, and had a full suite of air-to-ground modes capable of firing most U.S. weapons. With these improved capabilities, the F-20 became competitive with contemporary fighter designs such as the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, but was much less expensive to purchase and operate.

The Northrop F-20 Tigershark was a light fighter aircraft that was developed by Northrop in the 1970s and 1980s. It was based on the successful F-5E Tiger II, but had a more powerful engine, a more advanced radar and a wider range of weapons. The F-20 was designed to be a low-cost, high-performance fighter that could compete with the Soviet MiG-21 and MiG-23, as well as the newer F-16 Fighting Falcon. The F-20 was also intended to be an attractive option for foreign customers who wanted a modern fighter without the restrictions imposed by the US government on the export of its frontline aircraft.
However, the F-20 faced several challenges in the market, such as changing political and military policies, competition from other US and European fighters, and lack of support from the US Air Force. Despite demonstrating impressive performance and reliability in various tests and demonstrations, the F-20 failed to secure any orders and was eventually canceled in 1986 after only three prototypes were built.