Battle Fleet

Plate 026 — Aircraft

REF: BF-AIR-026

Battle Fleet / Aircraft

F-20 Tigershark F20 FIGHTER AIRCRAFT; AIRFRAME; AVIONICS; ENGINE

F-20 Tigershark F20 FIGHTER AIRCRAFT; AIRFRAME; AVIONICS; ENGINE (AI-generated image) AI
AI-generated image

F-20 Tigershark

F-20 Tigershark was a privately financed fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the USA, starting in 1975. It was a further evolution of Northrop's F-5 Freedom Fighter (in fact it was originally designated F-5G), although ultimately it shared little more than a strong family resemblance to that aircraft. The main change was the replacement of the F-5's two General Electric J85 engines with a single F404 engine, 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 and had a range of 1880 nautical miles. The F20 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 figthers such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon to other countries. After six years and no major buyers, Northrop cancelled the $1.2 billion project. The last existing F20 is on display at the California Science Center. The other two 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

ENGINE

  • F404 GE 100 18,000 Pound Thrust Turbofan Engine
  • Pneumatic/Cartridge Starter or Optional Jet Fuel Starter
  • 5,050 Pound Internal Fuel Capacity
  • 330 Gallon Pylon Tank Capability--Three Stations

AVIONICS

  • Head Up Display (HUD)
  • Hands on Stick and Throttle Controls
  • Digital Avionics with Built in Test (BIT)
  • MIL STD 1553B Multiplexed Stores Management
  • MIL STD 1750A Mission Computer
  • ASN-144 Ring Laser Gyro Inertial Navigation Set
  • AN/APG-67(V) Multimode Coherent Radar
  • APX-101 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF)
  • ARC-182 VHF/UHF Radio
  • Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
  • ALE-40 Flush Mounted Countermeasures Dispenser System
  • ARN-118 TACAN

AIRFRAME

  • 9G 8,000 Hour Airframe
  • Dual Digital Flight Control System with 3 Axis Control Augmentation, plus Full Time Mechanical Backup System
  • Autopilot
  • Automatic High Rate Continuous Maneuvering Flap System
  • Zero Altitude/Airspeed Ejection Seat
  • Antiskid Carbon Brakes
  • Onboard Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS)
  • Graphite Composite Tail Skins
  • Reduced Detectability, Increased Survivability