Northrop F -5e Tiger / 351 PCS Forces Aérienes Suisses - Cobi 5857

The Northrop F-5 is a twin-engine light fighter aircraft whose development began in 1950 with preliminary studies and came to fruition in 1962 under President John F. Kennedy. In his fight against communism, Kennedy provided the United States and its allies with considerable financial resources for advanced fighter aircraft, which indirectly revived the USAF's interest in the FX program. With the F-5A Freedom Fighter, the aircraft entered series production in 1963. The first customer was Norway in 1964, but the USAF received its first aircraft as early as January 1964, when deliveries to Norway had not started since 1966. Quite quickly, South Vietnam also received the new fighter and used it in the fight against the communist North. It was during this war that the Freedom Fighter received the nickname "Tiger". Since 1976, the F-5E Tiger II replaced all its predecessors and became, although its success in the United States remained limited, a cornerstone of the air defense of many friendly nations. A complete renewal with the F-5G version (later F-20 Tigershark) failed, as the US Air Force opted for the F-16 Fighting Falcon as a successor. In Switzerland, 20 aircraft were still in regular service in May 2021, and since 1995, the military aerobatic squadron Patrouille Suisse has flown 6 F-5E Tiger IIs. Scale model of 351 parts, stamped blocks and movable elements. Model dimensions (LxWxH): 29 x 17 x 10 cm