The Northrop F-20 Tigershark was a privately developed fighter aircraft intended to compete with the F-16. It began as an evolution of the F-5 Freedom Fighter but used a more powerful engine. Three prototypes were built in the 1980s but no major orders were placed, as customers preferred the F-16. The project was ultimately cancelled after six years due to lack of sales. While its performance was comparable to early F-16 models, the F-20 lacked expansion capability and lost out to the newer and more supported F-16.

1. Representative image for F-20 Tigershark
F-20 Tigershark Image Gallery (there are a total of 28 images)
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2. Aircraft description
The Northrop F-20 Tigershark (initially F-5G) was a privately financed fighter
aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the USA, starting in 1975 and offered
for sale starting in the 1980s and formally ending in the early 1990s.
It began as a further evolution of Northrop's F-5 Freedom Fighter/Tiger II,
although ultimately it shared little more than a strong family resemblance to that
aircraft.
History
It was originally designated F-5G, which was approved by the USAF in May 1981.
The initial request for F-20 was initially turned down in 1982, the USAF proposing F-
19 which ended up not being used at all. The USAF gave approval for F-20
designation use in November 1982 and of the extra name Tigershark in March 1983.
The main change was the replacement of the F-5's two General Electric J85 engines
with a single General Electric F404 turbofan, increasing its total thrust by 60%. Like
the F-5, however, it was designed as a low-cost, high-performance fighter plane that
was easy to maintain. It could reach speeds of Mach 2.1 and had a ferry range of
1,715 miles (2,760 km). The aircraft was armed with General Electric AN/APG-67
radar that offered significant performance improvement over the original Emerson
AN/APQ-159 radar of the original F-5E/F.
The F-20 made its first flight on August 30, 1982, and a total of three prototypes were
created. It was intended for sale to foreign countries and militaries, but the market for
the plane never developed, as President Ronald Reagan relaxed the restrictions on
selling fighters such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon to other countries. Also, the fact that
the United States government had not placed an order for the aircraft had a large
effect on the decisions of other countries to buy the F-20 or not. The Pakistan Air
Force was offered the F-20 and A-10 Thunderbolt II, but insisted on choosing the F-
16 because it was felt that it would give them a technological advantage.
After six years and no major buyers, Northrop cancelled the $1.2 billion project. Air
forces that could afford the F-20 bought the F-16, while ones which could buy neither,
purchased the cheaper F-5E/F Tiger II or the Russian MiG-21. While its performance
was comparable to the Block 1/5/10 F-16 and superior to the turbojet-powered export-
variant F-16/79, the F-20 airframe had virtually no remaining expansion capability, as
it was built on essentially a 20 year old airframe at the limits of its capabilities. The F-
20's low-set wing and wing-mounted undercarriage also limited the size and number
(four underwing hardpoints on the F-20 vs. six on the F-16) of underwing stores that
could be used; whereas the F-16 would often be seen with very large stores. The F-16
was a brand-new jet that had not even begun to approach its eventual capabilities.
There was speculation within the F-20 development team that the US Air Force
influenced foreign militaries to buy the F-16, in order to make spare parts more
available.
The last existing F-20 is on display at the California Science Center. The other two

3. prototypes were lost due to crashes during world sales tours. The crashes were caused
by pilot error, and were not linked to any malfunction of the planes.
Aerospace legend Chuck Yeager, who worked as a spokesperson for Northrop during
the F-20's development, frequently touted the plane and was regularly featured in its
advertising.
General characteristics
 Crew: 1 pilot
 Length: 46 ft 6 in (14.2 m)
 Wingspan: 26 ft 8 in (8.1 m)
 Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.2 m)
 Wing area: 186 ft� (17 m � )
 Empty weight: 11,220 lb (5,090 kg)
 Loaded weight: 15,060 lb (6,830 kg)
 Max takeoff weight: 26,290 lb (11,920 kg)
 Powerplant: 1 x General Electric F404-GE-100 turbofan, 17,000 lbf (76 kN)
Performance
 Maximum speed: Mach 2.1
 Combat radius: 300 nm (345 mi, 555 km)
 Ferry range: 1,490 nm (1,715 mi, 2,760 km)
 Service ceiling: 55,000 ft (16,800 m)
 Rate of climb: 50,030 ft/min (255 m/s)
 Wing loading: 81.0 lb/ft� (395 kg/m � )
 Thrust/weight: 1.13
Armament
 Guns: 2 x 20 mm (0.787 in) M39 cannon
 Hardpoints: 5 with a capacity of 8,000 lb (3,600 kg),
 Missiles: 2 x AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles