Editing Northrop F-5 (section)

===Singapore===
[[File:RSAF F-5S Cope Tiger.jpg|thumb|A Republic of Singapore Air Force F-5S Tiger II taking off from [[Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base|Korat Air Base]]]]

Singapore is an important operator of the F-5E/F variant, first ordering the aircraft in 1976 during a massive expansion of the city-state's armed forces; delivery of this first batch of 18 F-5Es and three F-5Fs was completed by late February 1979, equipping the newly formed-up [[144 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force|No. 144 ''Black Kite'' Squadron]] at [[Tengah Air Base]]. At the end of 1979, an order was placed for six more F-5Es, which were delivered by 1981. In 1982, an order for three more F-5Fs was placed, these were forward delivered in September 1983 to [[RAF Leuchars]] in Scotland where they were taken over by pilots of the [[Republic of Singapore Air Force]] (RSAF).<ref name="AFM275"/> In 1983, the type took over the duties of [[Interceptor aircraft|airborne interception]] from the [[Royal Australian Air Force]]'s [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage IIIO]]s detachment (rotated between [[No. 3 Squadron RAAF|No. 3]] & [[No. 75 Squadron RAAF]]) stationed at ''Tengah''.<ref>Wilson 2002, p. 180.</ref>

Another order for six more F-5Es was placed in 1985, these were delivered the same year and would go on to equip the newly formed-up [[149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force|No. 149 ''Shikra'' Squadron]] at ''Tengah''. The following year, the RSAF placed an order for its final batch of three F-5Fs and five F-5Es, these were delivered in December 1987 and July 1989, respectively. In a bid to modernize its air force, the Royal Jordanian Air Force put up seven F-5Es for sale in 1994, these were later acquired by Singapore.<ref name="AFM275"/>

From 1990 to 1991, using jigs and toolings purchased from Northrop, Singapore Aircraft Industries (SAI, now [[ST Aerospace]]) converted eight existing F-5Es into RF-5E Tigereye variant. Subsequently, these were used to reequip [[141 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force|No. 141 ''Merlin'' Squadron]], which had traded in their older [[Hawker Hunter]] FR.74S for the newer Tigereyes in 1992 and was by then based at [[Paya Lebar Air Base]], after the 144 Squadron had relocated there in 1986. By June 1993, all three squadrons had been relocated to the base, thus consolidating Singapore's F-5E/F operations at ''Paya Lebar''.<ref name="AFM275"/>

In 1991, SAI was awarded a contract as the prime contractor to modernize all RSAF F-5E/Fs (including the 7 ex-Jordanian F-5Es); Elbit Systems was the sub-contractor responsible for systems integration. Upgrades include a new [[X band]] multi-mode radar (the Italian ''FIAR Grifo-F'',<ref name="FSRSAF"/><ref name="FGBRF5"/> with [[Beyond-visual-range missile]] and [[Look-down/shoot-down]] capabilities), a revamped cockpit with new MIL-STD-1553R databuses, [[General Electric Company|GEC]]/[[Ferranti]] 4510 [[Head-up display]]/weapons delivery system, two [[BAE Systems]] MED-2067 [[Multi-function display]]s, [[Litton Industries|Litton]] LN-93 INS (similar to the [[ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk]]) and Hands On Throttle-And-Stick controls (HOTAS) to reduce pilot workload. Reportedly, the Elisra SPS2000 radar warning receiver and countermeasure system was also installed.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1996/03/13/17672/singapore-f-5-upgrade-to-go-ahead.html "Singapore F-5 upgrade to go ahead."] ''FlightGlobal.com,'' 13 March 1996. Retrieved: 28 June 2011.</ref>

In addition, the starboard M39 20&nbsp;mm cannon mounted in the nose was removed to make way for additional avionics (the sole cannon on the two-seaters was removed because of this), and to improve maneuverability, upgraded aircraft received larger [[Leading edge extension#Leading edge root extensions|leading edge root extensions]] (LERX). The process began in March 1996 and was completed by 2001, receiving the new designation of ''F-5S/T''. In 1998, the eight RF-5Es also received the upgrades (except for the radar) and were redesignated as ''RF-5S''.<ref name="AFM275"/> Each F-5S/T upgraded reportedly cost [[Singapore dollar|SGD$6 million]].<ref>Boey, David. "Meet Bitching Betty – She sits in a plane, one of 40 F-5S aircraft which have been upgraded at about $6 million a plane."''[[The Straits Times]]'' ([[Singapore Press Holdings]]), 4 April 1999, p. 23. Retrieved: 22 March 2012.</ref>

By end of 2009, the type had accumulated more than 170,000 hours of flight time in Singapore service with only two F-5Es being lost in separate accidents (in 1984 and 1991, respectively).<ref name="AFM275"/> 144 Squadron, the last squadron operating F-5Es, disbanded in September 2015 after the F-5S was retired.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Northrop F-5T Tiger II 853 1:72 Scale|url=https://www.headway-aviation.shop/product-page/northrop-f-5t-tiger-ii-853-1-72-scale|access-date=2021-08-22|website=Headway Aviation|language=en|archive-date=22 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822003235/https://www.headway-aviation.shop/product-page/northrop-f-5t-tiger-ii-853-1-72-scale|url-status=dead}}</ref>