'Tiger Shark' F-20, America's worst-selling fighter jet

Despite possessing many superior features, the F-20 Tigershark still lost the opportunity to become America's most exported fighter model.

US F-20 fighter jet model. Photo: Aviations militaires

The F-20 Tigershark is a fighter aircraft that Northrop Grumman began building in 1975 with its own funds, aiming to capture the booming export market for fighter aircraft at the height of the Cold War, according to Aviations militaires.

The F-20 was developed on the basis of the F-5E Tiger II fighter model mass-produced by the US and supplied to allied countries since World War II, but with significant improvements in engine and electronic warfare systems, providing stronger combat capabilities than the original version.

Compared to the F-5E, the F-20 model is faster, has effective beyond-visual-range air combat capabilities, and can strike ground targets with high-precision weapons systems.

The F-20 is 14.4 m long, has a wingspan of 8.53 m, is 4.2 m high, weighs 5.96 tons, has a maximum take-off weight of more than 7 tons, has a maximum speed of Mach 2 (68 m/s), and has a maximum ceiling of 16 km.

In terms of weapons, the F-20 is equipped with 5 hardpoints on the wings and fuselage, capable of carrying 3.6 tons of bombs, missiles, and rockets. The aircraft's anti-aircraft weapons include many AIM-9 and AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, two M39 20mm automatic cannons with 280 rounds of ammunition.

When attacking ground targets, the F-20 uses AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles, two CRV-7 or LAU-10 rocket launchers with four 127 mm rockets and Mk80 conventional bombs and CBU cluster bombs.

Another advantage the F-20 has over its competitors is its ability to respond quickly to emergency situations. During a test exercise in 1980, the F-20 took only 2 minutes and 30 seconds to reach an altitude of 12 km, ready to confront threats that entered its airspace.

The F-20 made its first flight on August 30, 1982. However, this seemed like an inappropriate time for the launch and promotion of the new fighter model because President Ronald Reagan decided to loosen restrictions on supplying the famous F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter model to allied countries.

By 1986, the US Department of Defense did not order the F-20 but instead used the F-16 to equip the Air National Guard. This decision had a significant impact on countries considering and choosing to buy American fighters.

After 6 years of not selling any aircraft, in 1988, Northrop officially stopped the F-20 program worth more than 1.2 billion USD.

The last F-20 is on display at the California Science Center. The remaining two prototypes crashed during promotional flights, both due to pilot error.

According to VNE