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Profiles and Pixels / Re: Apophenia's Offerings
« Last post by apophenia on May 16, 2024, 05:10:02 AM »Last go at a Vietnam-era air superiority fighter. My conclusion is that the only realistic option was to develop the F-5C 'Skoshi Tiger'. Those USAF experiments involved a handful of F-5A-15 and F-5A-20 'Freedom Fighters' withdrawn from MAP. But to truly succeed, the 'Skoshi Tiger' programme had to go further.
Two early-model 'Freedom Fighter' limitations needed to be tackled - the absence of a search radar and a limited range. With unfair use of a crystal ball, I've addressed both of these concerns with a time-warp belly CFT. Permanently attached, that conformal fuel tank also holds new landing gear stowage bays and the relocated gun armament.
A new, rearward-retracting nose gear (based on the F-100) and the relocated guns free-up nose space for the new search radar. For that new set, I am imagining an existing radar of the day fitted with a reduced scale dish to fit the F-5's smaller nose.
Bottom: Revised F-5CM 'Skoshi Tiger' on the ground with gun bays open in belly CFT. Equipped for mid-range aerial combat, this aircraft has inverted 'T' AIM-9D rail mounts on its wing pylons. Standard 'Freedom Fighter' wingtip tanks are also carried.
Top: Airborne F-5CM 'Skoshi Tiger' with missile rails on pylons and wingtips. For weight and speed considerations, normally only 4 x Sidewinders would be carried but this otherwise 'slick' fighter also has an inflight refuelling probe mounted.
Although in no way perfect, I suspect that this reorganized 'Freedom Fighter' would be the best that the USAF could have managed in a least-mod Urgent Operational Requirement of that time. The F-16 that they actually needed was still a long way off in time and technology.
Two early-model 'Freedom Fighter' limitations needed to be tackled - the absence of a search radar and a limited range. With unfair use of a crystal ball, I've addressed both of these concerns with a time-warp belly CFT. Permanently attached, that conformal fuel tank also holds new landing gear stowage bays and the relocated gun armament.
A new, rearward-retracting nose gear (based on the F-100) and the relocated guns free-up nose space for the new search radar. For that new set, I am imagining an existing radar of the day fitted with a reduced scale dish to fit the F-5's smaller nose.
Bottom: Revised F-5CM 'Skoshi Tiger' on the ground with gun bays open in belly CFT. Equipped for mid-range aerial combat, this aircraft has inverted 'T' AIM-9D rail mounts on its wing pylons. Standard 'Freedom Fighter' wingtip tanks are also carried.
Top: Airborne F-5CM 'Skoshi Tiger' with missile rails on pylons and wingtips. For weight and speed considerations, normally only 4 x Sidewinders would be carried but this otherwise 'slick' fighter also has an inflight refuelling probe mounted.
Although in no way perfect, I suspect that this reorganized 'Freedom Fighter' would be the best that the USAF could have managed in a least-mod Urgent Operational Requirement of that time. The F-16 that they actually needed was still a long way off in time and technology.