Hey Everyone, Zerø here. I got bored making 4th generation jets, so I made a 3rd gen jet fighter.

Now that I look at it, the F-5's just a 3rd gen F-16.

I dunno why.

Introduction:

The Northrop F-5E Tiger II is an upgraded variant of the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter, a light, supersonic, twin-engine, daylight air superiority fighter. The F-5E expanded the F-5's capability on air to ground attacks by adding the capability to carry bombs and guided weapons, as well as improving it's avionics.

History:

The Project started initially due to NATO's request of NBMR-1, calling for a lightweight, nuclear carrying fighter that can operate in rough airfields. As you can tell, these three categories does not fit well during the 1950s. The teams of Northrop toured around Europe and Asia to learn about the situation where NBMR-1 could be utilized. They found none, and realized it's better suited for a nimble, and cost effective air superiority fighter. They also realized that expensive designs couldn't be rolled out each and every year, so they demanded, uh... "Engineered growth potential"? I dunno, I just read this off wiki and simplified it.

The design takes shape in 1995 when the new J85 engines rolled around. The J85 was originally used for the ADM-20 decoy missile used on the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, but Northrop figured "we can make a fighter out of this". So they did, they named it the F-5A. It first flew on 30th of July 1959.

Northrop continued to enhance the F-5 to keep up with the eastern MiG-21. The upgrade introduced an extended wing root which increased fuel and maneuverabiliy. The engine was also upgraded, and the fuselage has been lengthened to accomodate a radar. The new variant was called the F-5E. It first flew in 11th of August 1972. The F-5E, in several countries had also been significantly upgraded. Notably the Singaporean F-5S, which was upgraded to accomodate AIM-120 AMRAAM Beyond Visual Range missiles.

Loadout:

- 2x M39A2 Revolver Cannon
A pair of 20mm revolver cannons with a 1500RPM rate of fire.

- 2x AIM-9L Sidewinder
Also called the Sidewinder Lima, it is the first AIM-9 variant to feature an all-aspect infrared guidance.

- 2x AGM-65B Maverick
An early variant of the Maverick, a family of air-to-ground missiles. This variant used an electro-optical guidance system.

- Mk.82 500lb bomb
A 500lb freefall, unguided bomb.

- 275gal External Drop Tank
A drop tank consisting 275 US gallons (1040L), can be dropped.

Controls & Features

Controls:

Normal Controls.
Activate1: Flaps
Activate2: Nose Wheel Steering
Activate3: Deploy Tailhook (This does nothing.)
Activate4: Drop Tanks
Activate5: Deploy Airbrakes (Please drop tanks first!)

Features:

• A "realistic" flight model! I'm actually pretty proud of this one.
• Custom missiles! I'm mostly just recycling old bodies, but it's cool though.
• Improved afterburner effects, again. This is miles better to be honest.

Gallery:

That's all folks! I have nothing much to say for this one to be honest. I made this to make up the lack of motivation to continue the bigger projects. And it was a decision worth the problem.

Other than that though, enjoy, and until next time...