Northrop F-20 Tigershark (originally F-5G) is a light fighter designed and built by Northrop. Its development began in 1975 as a further evolution of Northrop's F-5E Tiger II, incorporating a new engine that greatly improved overall performance and a modern avionics suite, including a powerful and flexible radar. Compared to the F-5E, the F-20 was much faster, had beyond-visible air-to-air capability, and had a full suite of air-to-ground modes capable of employing most US weapons. These improved capabilities made the F-20 competitive with modern fighters such as General Dynamics' F-16 Fighting Falcon, but were much cheaper to purchase and operate. Much of the development of the F-20 was done under the US Department of Defense (DoD) project called "FX". FX sought to develop fighters capable of dealing with the latest Soviet aircraft, but without the sensitive front-line technologies used by the United States Air Force's own aircraft. The FX was a product of the Carter administration's military export policy, which aimed to provide foreign countries with high-quality equipment without the risk of advanced US technology falling into the hands of the Soviet Union. Northrop had high hopes for the F-20 in the international market, but policy changes after the election of Ronald Reagan meant that the F-20 had to compete for sales with aircraft such as the F-16, the US Air Force's latest fighter design. The development program was terminated in 1986 after three prototypes had been built and a fourth partially completed.
