The Northrop F-5 is actually a family of light, maneuverable fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Northrop in the United States beginning in 1962. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and the extensively updated F-5E and F-5F Tiger II variants. Reliable, efficient and inexpensive, they have met with great success on the export market, having been adopted by some 30 countries and more than 2,700 of them built.

After numerous trials, the federal parliament approved the purchase of 72 F-5 Tiger IIs in 1976, including 66 F-5Es and 6 F-5Fs for airspace protection, as part of the 1975 armament program. A second tranche of 38 Tiger aircraft were ordered as part of the 1981 armament program. Today, the remaining aircraft continue to be used to relieve the F/A-18s of secondary tasks, and are mainly assigned to training (as targets), radioactivity monitoring and Patrouille Suisse. In early 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense planned to buy back 22 of these retired aircraft to serve as « Aggressors. »

Cover photo credit : LowFlyingPhotography