F-5E-3 Tiger II
Ah, yes. the MiG-28, with its classified 4G negative dive. You definitely should try it — the wings will even stay on and everything (until you hit the ground).
More sensibly, the F-5 is based on the same basic airframe as the venerable T-38 Talon jet trainer, and remains in use to this day as a stand-in for lighter “red force” aircraft like the MiG-21 in dissimilar air combat training. Its numerous export (and later re-imported) versions have received layers upon layers of alterations and modernisations, with some variants being able to carry AMRAAMs, AGM-65s, and even laser targeting pods. Seeing where it ended up, it is not difficult to imagine the F-5 as a kind what-could-have-been alternative to the F-16: a small and light but very extensible airframe that you can bolt almost anything to. But all those extra features are for export and for much later periods — no such thing for pesky DCS pilots to use.
Instead, the F-5E-3 featured here comes with very simple avionics and with a single pair of Sidewinders as its only air-to-air weapon (well… aside from a pretty competent pair of 20mm cannons that is). In fact, the F-5E-3 is almost completely devoid of “systems” to manipulate or to care about, and is therefore a superbly simple aircraft to fly and operate. It is small and light-weight, and while not incredibly fast, it can still go past Mach 1 and even carry a few stores with it while doing so. it is a light-weight, agile day-time multirole aircraft with a couple of simple pilot aids, but where most of the flying, navigating, and fighting has to be done by the pilot on their own.
Features
Aside from the obligatory MiG-28 skin, the F-5E-3 only comes with the bare minimum:
- A single UHF radio and a TACAN receiver as its only “advanced” navigational instrument.
- A somewhat temperamental RWR that likes to not show what is actually out there.
- Automated flaps and yaw/pitch stability enhancers.
- A drag chute and an arrestor hook for (very) short landings. It is technically not carrier-capable, buuuuuut…
- An almost entirely pointless radar (ok, it helps with gunnery and lets you find targets BVR, but that is about all it is good for).
Flying the F-5E-3
Cockpit overview
Getting into the air
Shooting something
Smart weapons?!
Add-ons and files
- Tippis' Checklist (see also kneeboard mods).
- Chuck's F-5E-3 guide.
Related DCS modules
- Aggressors Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) campaign.
- Aggressors Air Combat Maneuver (ACM) campaign.
More information
- Northrop F-5 on wikpedia.
- F-5E/F Tiger II on globalsecurity.org
- Bunyap's F-5 test flight video series.