Northrop F-20 Tigershark

The Northrop F-20 Tigershark, first called the F-5G, was a prototype light fighter designed and built by Northrop. Development began in 1975 as a further evolution of the F-5E Tiger II with a new engine, the single General Electric F404 first designed for the F/A-18 Hornet, and a modern avionics suite with a powerful radar. It was much faster than the F-5E, gained beyond-visual-range air-to-air capability and a full set of air-to-ground modes, and was claimed to compete with the F-16 at much lower cost. Much of the work fell under the Defense Department FX project. The first prototype flew on 30 August 1982 and the Tigershark name was approved in March 1983. Two prototypes crashed, killing Northrop pilots Darrell Cornell and Dave Barnes. Without export customers, the program was abandoned in 1986 after three prototypes.