Northrop F-20 Tigershark – Fotos e Vídeo

O Northrop F-20 Tigershark (inicialmente F-5G) foi um caça leve financiado privadamente, projetado e construído pela Northrop. Seu desenvolvimento começou em 1975 como uma evolução adicional do F-5E Tiger II da Northrop, com um novo motor que melhorou muito o desempenho geral, e uma suíte aviônica moderna, incluindo um radar poderoso e flexível. Comparado com o F-5E, o F-20 era muito mais rápido, ganhava capacidade ar-ar além do alcance visual, e tinha um conjunto completo de modos ar-terra capazes de disparar a maioria das armas dos EUA. Com essas capacidades melhoradas, o F-20 tornou-se competitivo com designs de caças contemporâneos, como o General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, mas era muito menos caro para comprar e operar.

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.