Northrop F-5 variant
Northrop F-5 F-5E Tiger 2000
AIDC upgrade programme for Republic of China Air Force F-5Es, with the GD-53 radar from the indigenous IDF fighter and the ability to carry a single beyond-visual-range TC-2 missile on the centreline station. The prototype flew on 24 July 2002 and the programme was cancelled for lack of air force interest.
- July 24, 2002
- First flight
- 1
- Units built
History
The world's largest F-5 fleet
Taiwan was the family's most numerous operator. It received its first seven F-5As and two F-5Bs in 1965 under the Military Assistance Program, and by 1971 operated 72 F-5As and 11 F-5Bs. In 1972 the United States borrowed 48 of those F-5As to lend to South Vietnam. The decisive step came with the Tiger II: under the Chung Cheng programme name, the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) began building F-5Es under licence on 30 October 1974 and eventually produced 242 F-5Es and 66 F-5Fs. At its peak the Republic of China Air Force held 336 aircraft in inventory.
The Tiger 2000 project
By the late 1990s, with the fleet ageing and the F-16, Mirage 2000 and indigenous IDF fighter arriving, AIDC proposed a deep F-5E upgrade: the Tiger 2000 project, also known as Tiger 21. The principal change was the GD-53 radar, the same set used on the IDF, far superior to the original AN/APQ-159. With it the aircraft could carry a single beyond-visual-range TC-2 missile on the centreline hardpoint, which meant giving up the fuel tank that station normally carries.
The prototype first flew on 24 July 2002. The programme nonetheless died for lack of interest from the Republic of China Air Force, which preferred to concentrate resources on the new-generation fighters already in service. The sole prototype built is preserved on display at AIDC's facilities.
The Taiwanese end
The cancellation of Tiger 2000 did not end the F-5 in Taiwan. The fleet kept flying in training and reconnaissance roles for two more decades. Seven F-5Es were converted to RF-5E Tigergazer reconnaissance configuration with help from Singapore Technologies Aerospace. The last F-5Es retired in November 2023 and the F-5Fs and RF-5E Tigergazers in July 2025, closing sixty years of unbroken service on the island.
The Taiwanese case illustrates the alternative not taken: where Brazil, Chile, Singapore and Thailand upgraded their Tiger IIs and gave them twenty more years of relevant operational life, Taiwan let its aircraft age as lead-in trainers while investing in new platforms. Both decisions were consistent with each country's budget and threat picture.