Yet another remake, and they ain't stopping anytime soon. The old F-5E build was nice looking, but it had serious performance issues that I feel did not do the plane justice. Well now that time has passed and things have changed it's time to give this one another shot. I'm much happier with this build both in clean construction and its flight performance, but I did borrow the cockpit from the old F-5E (Note this does not make in VR-compatible.) Eventually I want to remake my F-5A build from the time the designersuite mod was first released as well. Anyways enjoy.

Variants

"Ralfi's Raiders" EWR Strike
Area 88 OVA Shin Kazama A2A
Area 88 TV series Shin Kazama 'desperate gunpods'

Controls

Group1 - Emergency tailhook
Group2 - Drogue chute
Group3 - N/A
Group4 - Jettison drop tank
Group5 - Airbrakes
Group6 - Jettison weapon stores
Group7 - N/A
Group8 - Master Arm

Armament

2x M39 20mm revolving cannon
1x 150US Gal drop tank
2x Mk.83 LDGP bombs
2x LAU-3/A rocket pods (19x 70mm FFAR)
2x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles

Gallery

Short History

Originating with a USAF competition for an advanced jet trainer to smooth transition to new and upcoming supersonic designs, the F-5E was an improved version of the initial F-5A Freedom Fighter that first rolled out in 1972. Realizing hand-me-down aircraft were no longer sufficient to arm NATO-aligned countries against the possible threat of the Warsaw Pact, the US initiated a program to equip allies with modern (though perhaps not necessarily state-of-the-art) aircraft to bolster the west's capabilities in a shooting war. The privately-developed N-156F was seen by defense officials as the perfect fighter to do so, and thus the F-5A Freedom Fighter became operational by the turn of the decade. It would prove to be a cheap, reliable, and potent fighting machine in a time when everyone was feeding their planes steroids to get them faster, higher, at better armed - at the cost of rapidly increasingly expense (joke not intended.)

Though an excellent design the Freedom Fighter was perhaps a bit too basic, and starting in the mid-late 60's the design was tweaked for both performance and to upgrade the equipment. The new F-5E "Tiger II" received a basic radar as standard (the F-5A could be upgraded, but didn't start with one), a slightly updated cockpit, uprated General Electric J85 engines with 5,000lbf thrust in burner, and redesigned LERX to enhance the agility of the fighter. Later on the Tiger II would even be cleared to carry new guided ordnance such as the AGM-65 Maverick as the plane was gradually upgraded further.

Despite mixed popularity among bomber/missile focused Air Force higher ups, the plane was loved by just about anyone who flew it; Some nations still fly the aircraft in one form or another such as Brazil's modern F-5EM that are now being supplanted with the JAS-39E Gripen, Switzerland who are now beginning to phase out their own F-5's for the same Gripen fighter, and Iran who are even producing their own home developments of the basic airframe. The US still flies the Tiger II in aggressor roles in both the USAF and US Navy/USMC - not just natively but also outsourced from private defense companies who occasionally have upgraded their F-5's to a modernized specification. Given the design dates to the mid-late 1950's with its relative the T-38 Talon, the longevitiy of the F-5 in service is commendable if not slowly reaching the end of its twilight years.