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Kennedy brought about a new requirement for a budget export fighter under the "F-X" program to serve American allies worldwide. The N-156F was once again in limbo for a time longer until an initiative by then-President John F. It was not until 1961 that the project gained some slight interest from the US Army looking for close-support and reconnaissance platform but the move was derailed to keep the USAF as the only "true" fixed-wing, air combat arm in the US military. The N-156F prototypes furthermore showcased strong qualities that would be pertinent to the air-to-air and ground attack roles making her a truly multi-role platform.ĭespite the promising early showing, the USAF exerted a lackadaisical response in pushing the N-156F program further into 1960. Of note during this first run was the prototype exceeding the sound barrier without issue - proving the design inherently sound and efficient. The first of these achieved initial flight on July 30th, 1959 out of Edwards AFB. The promising low-cost, easy-to-use nature of the N-156F seem to fit the proverbial bill and Northrop received a government contract to produce three working prototypes for official USAF evaluation. In an effort to keep pace with the Soviet military reach across the world, the "Military Assistance Program" (MAP) was enacted by the United States to help those budget conscious American-allies field capable military hardware. Fate ultimately came to knock on the door of the N-156F during the height of the Cold War. Instead, she was moved along in development at a slower pace as a privately funded venture by Northrop. While the government-funded two-seat N-156T was now finding a respectable existence in the inventory of the USAF, the single-seat N-156F was not an entirely forgotten endeavor for Northrop. This aircraft was built in 1,187 examples and began USAF service in 1961. The USAF formally selected the N-156T to become the basis of its next -generation jet trainer and the design eventually evolved to become the YT-38 "Talon" and, ultimately, becoming the well-known Northrop T-38 "Talon" production model. While not looking directly to purchase a new frontline fighter at the time, it did seek a direct replacement for its aging line of Lockheed T-33 "Shooting Star" jet trainers whose own origins traced as far back as the 1940s.
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The USAF took notice of the N-156T twin-seat design. Regardless, Northrop engineers forged ahead and spawned the N-156 into two distinct aircraft forms - the single-seat "N-156F" fighter and the two-seat "N-156T" combat trainer.
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However, US Navy interest soon waned after the retirement of her Escort Carrier classes, leaving the future of the N-156 in doubt. The project was to make use of the General Electric J85 turbojet engine - the same powerplant as used in the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress-launched McDonnell ADM-20 "Quail" subsonic decoy cruise missile - and this installation proved ideal for use in such a small airframe design for the engine outputted a strong thrust-to-weight ratio for its size. Northrop, therefore, responded with their in-house "N-156" lightweight, twin-engine jet fighter proposal. However, Escort Carriers were not designed for the newer, larger types of fighters then entering USN service. Escort Carriers received their own birth in ocean-going fighting during World War 2. The F-5 was born out of a 1950s US Navy requirement calling for a small, lightweight, jet-powered fighter to operate from the decks of its Escort Carriers. Despite lacking the true "all-weather" capabilities of more accomplished fighters of her time, the F-5 made up for her inherent limitations through its excellent agility, ease of maintenance and low-cost functionality - all benefits to the budget-strapped military buyer. In all, at least 30 US-allied nations operated the type with many in service even today. While developed within the United States by the Northrop firm, the fighter went on to find quantitative success outside of the country with over half of the 2,246 completed aircraft serving in foreign militaries worldwide.
#Wmma 5 fighter images series#
The Northrop F-5 "Freedom Fighter" / "Tiger" / "Tiger II" series was designed from the outset as a low-cost, lightweight, multi-role Mach 1-capable combat platform.