Mach 2.0 performance, digital cockpit, and a sleek, almost stealthy design defined this capable fighter, tragically sidelined by export F-16s.
By Kris Osborn, Warrior
Northrop Grumman’s 1980s F-20 Tigershark light, high-speed jet may have been eclipsed, if not fully erased by export variants of the F-16, yet available specs on the aircraft suggest the innovative fighter was an extremely capable fighter. Initially conceived of as a Foreign Military Sales option for U.S. allies, the F-20 wound up collecting dust as U.S. friendly nations rushed to acquire export variants of the F-16 once they were approved and available.
As a result, the F-20 Tigershark suffered a curious and unanticipated fate, despite its technological merits and strong performance parameters. The F-20 Tigershark was armed with two 20mm cannons, 7 hardpoints and one GE F404-GE-100 turbofan engine. Perhaps of greatest significance, the F-20 was capable of hitting speeds as fast as Mach 2.0 and, according to a 2025 essay in the National Interest, was engineered with a digital cockpit and a host of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons to include the AiM-9 and AIM-7.
The most significant element of the F-20, arguably, could be seen in terms of its configuration., The F-20 almost looks a little stealthy with a sleek, slightly stealthy rounded fuselage with a very slight blended wing-body configuration. The shape or contours of the Tigershark might lead one to surmise that indeed the aircraft is stealthier than an F-16, a non-stealthy 4th-generation platform with many jagged edges and protruding structures likely to generate a return signal to ground radar systems. Of course actual stealth, or the extent of a “low radar cross section” includes a number of variables beyond the external configuration to include a heat signature and radar absorbent coating materials The F-20 is almost entirely rounded, and although it does not have an internal weapons bay, the aircraft does appear as though it is less likely to generate as much of a return signal as the F-16.
Nevertheless, the F-16 has become wildly popular as an international aircraft, in large measure due to a massive series of Lockheed-U.S. Air Force upgrades and service life extension programs. Lockheed also took initiative to engineer a special “export” “V” variant of the F-16 with a host of key upgrades to include AESA radar and improved electronics.
Given these attributes, one is likely to wonder why only three prototypes of the aircraft were built and the entire effort resulted in “zero” international customers for the aircraft. Assessments of the aircraft explained in The National Interest essay stated that pilots regarded the aircraft as both agile and maneuverable, attributes enabled by an effective thrust-to-weight ratio. One interesting variable cited in the TNI essay was that allied nations are more inclined to purchase an aircraft than the U.S. Air Force has chosen.
The F-20 joins a number of highly capable aircraft which, over the years, have either been overlooked, dismissed, dropped, cancelled or replaced due to a competitive procurement decision. Northrop’s Y-23 Black Widow, a stealth aircraft which lost out to Lockheed’s F-22 suffered a similar fate by virtue of not being chosen, yet the aircraft speed and stealth properties remain highly heralded to this day. Some even speculated that the Y-23 might make a comeback or at very least influence thinking and engineering related to future stealth aircraft.
In subsequent years, Northrop may have come to question the wisdom of its decision to design, engineer and “build” a project of this magnitude “before” customers had been clearly established. The investment and ingenuity used to envision and create the F-20 wound up generating no immediate financial return, yet the innovations and creativity woven into the Tigershark are certain to have influenced high-speed light attack in the decades that followed.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University