F5 "SUPER TIGER": FAB fighters get a NEW COMBAT MISSILE!!!!!
Video from the channel Gigantes da Informação about Northrop F-5, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 8:45. Language: Portuguese. Video type: News.
What's being announced
The video reports that Brazilian Air Force F-5s, whose retirement has been postponed due to delays in F-39 Gripen deliveries, will receive the IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile. According to the narrator, in 2026 the German missile manufacturer and the Brazilian company responsible for the Link BR2 data link and the FAB's avionics signed a memorandum of understanding to expand logistical support in Brazil and consolidate the missile's integration into the F-5BR fleet.
Context
The modernized fleet has been limited in short-range missiles due to the obsolescence of the Python 4. The IRIS-T is already the Gripen's standard armament, so its adoption would allow the inventory to be unified. As a precedent, the Royal Thai Air Force already integrated the missile on its F-5s modernized to the Super Tiger standard, with helmet-mounted sight designation. The IRIS-T is described as an infrared-guided missile with thrust vector control, developed by a European consortium led by Germany to replace the AIM-9.
What it implies
According to the video, the F-5s will remain in service for at least ten to fifteen more years, and the missiles ordered for the Gripen would also cover the old fleet's immediate air-defense need. The final part changes subject: it describes the US Navy's SM-3 missile and asks whether Brazil would need an anti-ballistic capability, concluding that for now the Sea Ceptor on the Tamandaré-class frigates is enough.