Designed and built by in the 1960's, the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter was built for the Kennedy Administration's Military Assistance Program as a low cost fighter for distribution to less-developed nations, the prototype first flew in April 1959 and served as as a non front line light jet fighter with the USAF until 1990, the aircraft has numerous variants and has, as was intended, been used by a large number of smaller air forces around the world. It is of note that the Northrop T-38 Talon, the training version of the Freedom Fighter, was the the Worlds first supersonic jet trainer and is used by NASA as a chase aircraft and for astronaut training. It is of interest to note that a vastly re-designed and modernised upgrade of the F-5 Freedom Fighter, the F-20 Tigershark, was made but never entered production for political reasons.
Specifications: Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter Crew: Pilot only - Length: 47 ft 4¾ in (14.45 m)
- Wingspan: 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
- Height: 13 ft 4½ in (4.08 m)
- Empty weight: 9,558 lb (4,349 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 24,664 lb (11,187 kg)
- Engine: Twin 5,000 lbf (22.2 kN) General Electric J85-GE-21B turbojets
- Maximum speed: 1,060 mph (1,700 km/h, mach 1.6)
- Combat radius: 760 nm (870 mi, 1,405 km)
- Service ceiling: 51,800 ft (15,800 m)
- Rate of climb: 34,400 ft/min (175 m/s)
Armament: - Twin 20 mm Pontiac M39A2 cannon
Total of up to 7,000 lb (3,200 kg) of ordnance which may include: - AIM-7 Sparrow Missiles
- AIM-9 Sidewinder Missiles
- AGM-65 Maverick Missiles
- AIM-120 AMRAAM Missiles
- M129 Leaflet bomb
- 500 lb (225 kg) Mk82 Bombs
- 2,000 lb (900 kg) Mk84 Bombs
- CBU-24/49/52/58 cluster Bomb
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