Wingspan: 7.50"
Model length: 12.50"
Code: PW07034

In 1970 Northrop won a competition for an improved International Fighter Aircraft (IFA) to replace the F-5A. The resultant aircraft, initially known as F-5A-21, subsequently became the F-5E. It was lengthened and enlarged, with increased wing area and more sophisticated avionics, initially with an Emerson AN/APQ-153 radar (the F-5A and -B had no radar). Various specific avionics fits could be accommodated at customer request. A two-seat combat-capable trainer, the F-5F, was offered. Unlike the gunless F-5B, it retained a single M39 cannon in the nose, albeit with a reduced ammunition capacity. The F-5F was armed with Emerson AN/APQ-157 radar, which is a derivative of the AN/APQ-153 radar, with dual control and display systems to accommodate the two-men crew, and the radar has the same range of AN/APQ-153, around 10 nm. A reconnaissance version, the RF-5E Tigereye, with a sensor package in the nose displacing the radar and one cannon, was also offered. The latest radar upgrade included the Emerson AN/APG-69, which was the successor of AN/APQ-159, incorporating mapping capability, however, most nations chose not to upgrade due to financial reasons, and the radar only saw very limited service in USAF aggressor squadrons and Swiss air force.

The F-5E eventually received the official name Tiger II. The F-5E experienced numerous upgrades in its service life, with the most significant one being adopting a new planar array radar, Emerson AN/APQ-159 with a range of 20 nm to replace the original AN/APQ-153. Similar radar upgrades were also proposed for F-5F, with the derivative of AN/APQ-159, the AN/APQ-167, to replace the AN/APQ-157, but was never carried out.

Armament

• Guns: 2× 20 mm Pontiac M39A2 cannon in the nose, 280 rounds/gun - twin seater fighter only
   
• Missiles:
   
• Total of up to 7,000 lb (3,200 kg) of ordnance.
  
  
  • AIM-7 Sparrow
     
  • AIM-9 Sidewinder
     
  • AGM-65 Maverick
     
  • AIM-120 AMRAAM
     
• Bombs:
  
  
  • M129 Leaflet bomb
     
  • 500 lb (225 kg) Mk82
     
  • 2,000 lb (900 kg) Mk84
     
  • CBU-24/49/52/58 cluster munitions

Craftsmen with over 30 years of experience gave life to the F-5E Tiger II Marine Aggressor through this meticulously hand-carved mahogany wood desktop model plane. Scaled from an exact blueprint, this work of art was lavishly hand-painted with great concern for details and accuracy. A wood base and a brief history plate go with this desktop model plane.