F-20 Tiger Shark & PAF Connection !

[Windjammer]

In the late 70s, Three American Jets were short listed by the Pakistan Air Force. Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt, LTV A-7Corsair-2 and the Northop F-20 Tiger Shark. These before the F-16 was the final choice. However Americans were keen to push the F-20 Tiger Shark and wanted PAF to be the launch customer. They even shipped the F-20 to Pakistan on full PAF colours. But the PAF stuck to it's guns and insisted for the Fighting Falcons.
This is Group Captain Abbas Mirza of PAF after first solo flight on the F-20.

 

[PradoTLC]

Would have made sense if full TOT was done

 

[Windjammer]

Would have made sense if full TOT was done

Not sure as Northop conducted over a thousand demonstration flights without generating a single order.

 

[Imran Khan]

they were inforcing us to get this baby but our gov were pushing for F-16 and we got f-16 lucky we .

 

[Path-Finder]

an interesting history. Maybe if both F16 and F20 were offered then it would have been a fantastic deal.

But then that would have made PAF even more sanction prone. Although it was a tough 15 year period but today JF17 and J10 ensure that the dubious politics of F16 will never hamper the PAF ever again.

 

[Windjammer]

Even for the F-16, the US were trying to sell us the watered down version called F-16 /79. But PAF wanted and got nothing less than the standard bird.

 

[MastanKhan]

In the late 70s, Three American Jets were short listed by the Pakistan Air Force. Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt, LTV A-7Corsair-2 and the Northop F-20 Tiger Shark. These before the F-16 was the final choice. However Americans were keen to push the F-20 Tiger Shark and wanted PAF to be the launch customer. They even shipped the F-20 to Pakistan on full PAF colours. But the PAF stuck to it's guns and insisted for the Fighting Falcons.
This is Group Captain Abbas Mirza of PAF after first solo flight on the F-20.
View attachment 908850

View attachment 908851

Hi,

Windy---thanks for the picture---.

And people say that Paf had no exposure to the F-20---.

Would have made sense if full TOT was done

Hi,

Full assembly line was available---for this aircraft as well as the Mirage F-1

Even for the F-16, the US were trying to sell us the watered down version called F-16 /79. But PAF wanted and got nothing less than the standard bird.

View attachment 908855

Hi,

It is not only Pakistan----US always sells watered down version to every buyer---.

It lets the buyer chose and ask for more---.

Basic car sales 101---. Show the customer cheapest vehicle---let them upgrade for more profit---.

 

[flameboard]

Would have made sense if full TOT was done

I believe the whole point of F-20 was to prevent TOT type issues. Weaker jets for the developing world

 

[Hack-Hook]

I believe the whole point of F-20 was to prevent TOT type issues. Weaker jets for the developing world

wonder about that , at the time F-20 was not weaker than f-16 , in some regards F-16 was better in some f-20 but after no interest in f20 and abandonment , and continuous upgrade on f-16 over years , well f-16 certainly is far stronger right now.

if only one party was interested in jet and it resulted in it being adopted by more countries and get upgraded probably right now the situation would have been different

one of the few lucky guys who actually flied the bird

 

[Bilal Khan (Quwa)]

The PAF sought the A-7 and F-5 in the early 1970s. One for the dedicated attack role (A-7) and the other for replacing the F-6 in the intercept role (F-5). By the mid-1970s, the U.S. approved both the A-7 and F-5 for sale to Pakistan.

However, the Carter administration wasn't happy with our nuclear program and was worried that we'd one day pair the A-7 with a nuclear warhead. So, the A-7 was shelved, but talks on the F-5 were actually proceeding. In fact, the PAF liked the F-5 because it was relatively low-cost and easily scalable -- for replacing the F-6, it was a good fit. To offset the loss of the A-7, the U.S. offered to sell the Maverick AGM with the F-5.

By the late 1970s, the PAF became aware of the shift to multirole aircraft, so it sent requests for the F-16, F-18L, and Mirage 2000. Only the French responded (with both the Mirage 2000 and an upgraded Mirage F-1). Carter softened up his approach a little by offering the F-16-79 and (according to WikiLeaks) loans for a potential Mirage 2000 purchase from France. However, Reagan decided to release the PW-equipped F-16s.

The rest is history, except... In the 1980s, the PAF was trying to decide how to build its future fleet. One option was to take the traditional "high-low" mix where it'd supplement the F-16 with a smaller multi-role fighter. For the latter, the PAF studied the Sabre II project, Mirage F-1, and potentially, the F-20. However, the PAF decided that this approach was not cost-effective, so it went with a different strategy: building around the F-16.

So, the new strategy was to build a large F-16 fleet: first with the 110 F-16A/Bs and (acc. to ACM Qureishi in an interview reflecting on Peace Gate) plans for 50-odd more F-16C/Ds. This would've been the workhorse fleet, but supplemented by various fighters in niche roles, like the Mirage III/5s and F-7Ps in the attack and air defence roles, respectively.

However, the inability to get the A-7 left a gap in a key area, one that the PAF hasn't solved to this day: the attack role. The A-7 was a well-optimized attack jet, and for the PAF, the ideal option for the attack roles it had envisioned. If not for funding constraints, I think the PAF would've gotten both the F-16 and the A-7 in the 1980s, but it could only pick one, and it went with the multi-role fighter (to rebuild the core).

IMO, if the F-16 program had gone as originally intended, i.e., 110 F-16A/Bs and 50 F-16C/Ds, the PAF would've sought a dedicated strike fighter to complete the vision it had with the A-7. Ironically, this might have been the scenario where the PAF would've acquired the JH-7A @SQ8 @Falcon26