Northrop F-5EM

The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) came to the F-5E through an open competition launched in 1971 to replace its AT-33As, in which the Northrop fighter beat the Fiat G.91, the MB-326K, the Harrier, the Jaguar and the A-4F. In October 1974 it ordered 36 F-5Es and 6 two-seat F-5Bs for 72 million dollars; the first three aircraft arrived on 12 March 1975. Portuguese Wikipedia dates that first batch to 1973 and puts its value at 115 million dollars. In 1988 it added 22 F-5Es and 4 F-5Fs second-hand from the USAF "aggressor" squadrons. That fleet, conceived as a 1970s day fighter with the AN/APQ-159 radar, is the starting point of the F-5EM.

The upgrade was an alternative to the original FX programme, through which Brazil had meant to buy a new fighter. English Wikipedia dates the start to 2001, with a 230 million dollar, eight-year contract to upgrade 46 F-5E/Fs, redesignated F-5EM (single-seat) and F-5FM (two-seat); Portuguese Wikipedia speaks of a FAB order in 2000 and a cost of 285 million. The work was done at Embraer's Gavião Peixoto plant (São Paulo) with AEL Sistemas, the Brazilian subsidiary of Elbit Systems; together they formed Harpia, merged in 2011 into the new Embraer Defesa e Segurança.

The package touched almost everything except airframe and engines: a FIAR Grifo multimode radar (Grifo-F in most sources; the Portuguese variant list calls it Grifo-X), which required a larger nose cone; a cockpit with three colour multifunction displays, a HUD and HOTAS controls; INS/GPS navigation; new electronic warfare systems and radar warning receiver; encrypted communications; night vision goggle compatibility; a helmet-mounted display; an on-board oxygen generation system (OBOGS) and an air-to-air refuelling system. A key capability is the secure link with the R-99 airborne early warning aircraft. Armament grew to include Python III/IV and MAA-1 Piranha air-to-air missiles, the Derby beyond-visual-range missile, with compatibility planned for the MAR-1 anti-radiation missile. On 7 July 2003 four Litening III targeting pods were ordered for 13 million dollars, and on 5 July 2006 three Sky Shield jamming pods for 42 million.

The first F-5EM was handed over on 21 September 2005. According to Portuguese Wikipedia, 23 aircraft had been upgraded by March 2008 and another 23 were delivered between 2008 and 2011. At CRUZEX 2006 the digitised aircraft surprised the FAB itself and the invited air forces, especially when working with the EMB-145 AEW&C.

To enlarge the fleet Brazil bought used aircraft from Jordan; the first arrived on 19 August 2008 at the São Paulo materiel depot. English Wikipedia dates the purchase to 2009 (eight F-5Es and three F-5Fs for 21 million dollars, built between 1975 and 1980). On 14 April 2011 a 153 million dollar contract was signed with Embraer and Elbit to bring them to the same standard, and by 2013 they had been converted to F-5EM and F-5FM.

In 2020 the FAB began fitting the F-5EM with the armed forces' own Link-BR2 datalink, sharing real-time data with E-99s, ships and command centres. Fleet figures vary: French Wikipedia counts 41 F-5EMs and 6 F-5FMs in October 2020, after two single-seaters were lost on 5 July 2016 and 24 May 2018; Spanish Wikipedia gives 42 F-5EMs and 4 F-5FMs in December 2021. Their gradual retirement towards 2030 accompanies the arrival of the JAS 39E/F Gripen.