Northrop F-5E TigerNorthrop F 5E Tiger airplane model. The F 5E aircraft is a fixed wing, supersonic aircraft armed with two 20mm guns and two sidewinder AIM 9 air to air missiles. The aircraft is an improved model of an existing system and is essentially an off the shelf procurement. It was designed for use by allies primarily as an air superiority fighter for local air defense with a secondary air to ground capability. These were procured in small numbers by the US