The F-20 began development in 1975. It was powered by a single engine. It was intended to serve the needs of US client nations would have been easier to maintain and cheaper to operate.
The Tigershark’s inception traces its roots back to the F-5 family, with Northrop aiming to produce a successor to the F-5E Tiger II under the Carter administration’s FX program. The FX program emerged from a decision that restricted the sale of U.S. front-line equipment, aiming to be seen as a force for peace rather than a promoter of conflict. The program’s goal was to provide capable but not top-end aircraft, without handing them the keys to the most sensitive U.S. technologies.
Tigershark boasted a General Electric F404 engine, providing a 60% thrust increase over its predecessor. The result was a jet that could reach a ceiling over 55,000 feet with a Mach 2.0 maximum speed, complete with advanced avionics including the General Electric AN/APG-67 multi-mode radar and a modern cockpit layout.
Despite its promising capabilities, the Tigershark’s fate was sealed when Reagan’s administration relaxed restrictions on F-16 exports, negating the need for an alternative export fighter. Countries that would have been prime customers for the F-20 were now authorized to purchase the F-16A. Consequently, the F-20, initially built to fulfill a niche market, found itself without a market to serve.
The F-20’s struggle for relevance was further hampered by two fatal crashes during demonstration flights in South Korea and Canada, both attributed to pilot G-LOC (gravity-induced loss of consciousness) rather than any fault of the aircraft. These incidents marred the Tigershark’s safety record and added to the challenges of marketing the jet.
Despite a glowing endorsement from aviation legend Chuck Yeager, who praised the F-20 as the “finest fighter in the world at the time,”
Today, the single surviving F-20A Tigershark resides at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, a testament to a bygone era of fighter development, a symbol of what could have been a cost-efficient and potent addition to U.S. allied air forces.
