The F-20 Tigershark Fighter Has a Message for the U.S. Military

The F-20 Tigershark Fighter Has a Message for the U.S. Military

PUBLISHED on August 26, 2025, 6:54 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – Northrop’s F-20 Tigershark was a private-venture fighter in the 1980s designed to be a highly capable, affordable, and easy-to-maintain jet for U.S. allies. An evolution of the successful F-5, it was a “new-generation” light fighter. However, the program was ultimately doomed by a single U.S. policy shift. The Reagan administration decided to allow allied nations to purchase th…