Editing Northrop F-5 (section)

===Morocco===
[[File:Moroccan F-5 jet.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Moroccan Air Force]] F-5E Tiger II during an aerial refueling mission in exercise African Lion 2009]]
The [[Royal Moroccan Air Force]] received 22 F-5As, two F-5Bs and two RF-5As from the United States between 1966 and 1974. These entered service with the 1st Fighter Squadron.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|2018|pages=40–41}}</ref> Two additional F-5As were donated by Iran in 1974, and six F-5As were acquired from Jordan in 1976.<ref name="SIWS 2 p18">{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=18}}</ref> Three F-5As were involved in the failed [[1972 Moroccan coup attempt]], attacking King [[Hassan II of Morocco]]'s [[Boeing 727]] in mid-air, before strafing and bombing a military airfield and the royal palace.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cooper|first1=Tom|title=Morocco, Mauritania & West Sahara since 1972|url=http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=228&Itemid=1|website=ACIG.org|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090030/http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=228&Itemid=1|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the failure of the attempted coup, nearly all F-5 pilots were arrested, and most of them disappeared.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|2018|page=43}}</ref> Another consequence of the failed coup was that the designation system of Moroccan air force units changed from numerical designations to names. From then on, the F-5A squadron was known as the Borak squadron.<ref name="SIWS 2 p18"/>

Morocco used its F-5s in the [[Western Sahara War]] in reconnaissance and bombing missions.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|pages=26,32}}</ref> Several aircraft were shot down by [[9K32 Strela-2]] [[MANPADS]], machine-gun fire, and [[9K31 Strela-1]] (SA-9) and [[2K12 Kub]] (SA-6) self-propelled anti-aircraft systems.<ref name="moroccan losses">{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|pages=74–75}}</ref> To counter the SA-6 threat, AN/ALR-66 [[radar warning receiver]]s were installed on the RF-5As and F-5Bs around 1981. These aircraft were grouped into a newly established dedicated reconnaissance unit, the Erige squadron; one of its main tasks was to track the [[Polisario Front]]'s surface-to-air missile systems.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|pages=60–61, 68}}</ref>

In the same period, Morocco started receiving 16 F-5Es and four F-5Fs, that had been ordered in 1979 thanks to Saudi financing. Deliveries lasted from 1981 to 1983.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=44}}</ref> Shortly after their arrival, the F-5Es were fitted with the same radar warning receivers as the RF-5As and F-5Bs;<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=45}}</ref> they also received in-flight refuelling probes.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=61}}</ref> Lastly, Moroccan F-5Es could be equipped with electronic and infrared countermeasures pods, that enhanced their survivability against Polisario surface-to-air missiles.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=VII}}</ref> F-5E/Fs were operated by the Borak and Erige squadrons, where they served together with older F-5 versions, as well as the Chahine squadron.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=62}}</ref> During the war in Western Sahara, Moroccan F-5s deployed general-purpose and cluster bombs, unguided rockets, and more rarely [[AGM-65 Maverick]] missiles.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|pages=55,VII}}</ref> In total, 15 F-5s are confirmed to have been lost in the course of the Western Sahara War.<ref name="moroccan losses"/>

Starting in 1990, Morocco received 12 more F-5Es from the United States, a total of 24 F-5Es having been upgraded to the F-5TIII standard.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}