Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and Tiger II Supersonic Fighter Family
The Northrop F-5 was a compact supersonic fighter developed from the N-156 family for affordable international service. Its straightforward structure, twin-engine layout, and maintainability made the Freedom Fighter and later Tiger II useful as fighters, trainers, reconnaissance aircraft, and aggressor aircraft across a wide coalition of air forces; the family also provided the basis for the U.S. Navy's F-5N adversary fleet.
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Identity
- Aliases
- F-5F-5A Freedom FighterF-5BF-5E Tiger IIF-5FN-156FYF-5A
- Family Name
- Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter / Tiger II
- Full Name
- Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and Tiger II Supersonic Fighter Family
- Roles
- militarytrainerreconnaissanceexperimental
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Northrop F-5 was a compact supersonic fighter developed from the N-156 family for affordable international service. Its straightforward structure, twin-engine layout, and maintainability made the Freedom Fighter and later Tiger II useful as fighters, trainers, reconnaissance aircraft, and aggressor aircraft across a wide coalition of air forces; the family also provided the basis for the U.S. Navy's F-5N adversary fleet.
- First Flight Year
- 1,959
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 2
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Variant Notes
- Two General Electric J85 family afterburning turbojets; exact F-5 subvariant and installation placement are not asserted.
- Name
- Northrop F-5 General Electric J85 installation
- Notes
- The National Museum of the United States Air Force identifies the F-5 with two General Electric J85 engines; no exact subvariant or placement is asserted for this family-level relationship.
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Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 6, 2026 at 23:26:07 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 14, 2026 at 20:15:53 UTC