- Member since
November 2005
- From: Huntsville AL
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osher wrote: | Macktheknife, well done! Yes, the T-38 Talon grew into the F-5 (variety of names), which itself grew into the F-17, which lost to the F-16, but then also grew into the F-18, which beat the F-16N for a naval fighter, which then grew into the F-18E. The F-5 also spun off the F-20 Tigershark, which never sold, again due to the F-16. |
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Not to start an argument, but my own memory is that the YF-17 owes very little to the T38/F-5. The F-20 was really a pretty good product, developed during the Carter administration in answer to the call for an inexpensive but reasonably capable fighter to market to our poorer allies. Along came the Reagan administration, as you say much more open to export of the F-16, and Northrop ended up sucking up all of the F-20's development costs with nothing to show in the way of sales. Folks I've talked to who worked with the F-20 say it was really a pretty sharp fighter, offering near F-16 capabilities for a fraction of the price, but between Reagan administration policiies on F-16 export, and the shear "sexiness" factor of that little aircraft, the F-20 never got a real chance.
On the bench:
Not much right now, just getting started again.
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