The F-20 Tigershark Light Fighter Boiled Down to 4 Words

The F-20 Tigershark Light Fighter Boiled Down to 4 Words

Key Points and Summary – Northrop’s F-20 Tigershark began as the F-5G: a single-engine, low-cost export fighter with an F404 engine, APG-67 radar, Sparrow capability, and Mach-2 performance. Impressive and fast to field, it failed for nontechnical reasons: two G-LOC demo crashes, no U.S. Air Force adoption, and Reagan-era policy shifts that opened F-16 exports, erasing its niche. Analysts still praise its acceleration, avionics, and affordabilit…