“Now, then, as most of you know, the F-5 doesn’t have the thrust-to-weight ratio that the MiG-28 has.” And in those few words in Top Gun, Kelly McGillis’s flight instructor uttered one of movies’ more ironic technical declarations since the MiG-28 did not exist. The dark-painted “enemy” planes that chased Tom Cruise’s Maverick were actually American-made Northrop F-5 Tigers, an aircraft with a background as thick as it is ill-conceived.
The choice to make an F-5 look like a Soviet enemy was an exercise of Cold War politics. In 1986, it wasn’t feasible to get hold of an actual MiG to take pictures of; the Soviet Union protected its planes as religiously as it protected its nuclear secrets. Director Tony Scott went to the U.S. Navy’s adversary air training squadrons, where F-5s were already simulating enemy fighter aircraft during dissimilar air combat training. A fresh paint job matte black and red star markings finished off the makeover to become fictional MiG-28.
The F-5’s readiness for this on-screen deception was not coincidental. Designed in the late 1950s as an independently funded venture, the plane would be light, supersonic, and low-maintenance. Northrop constructed it around two General Electric J85 afterburning turbojets, each with 5,000 pounds of thrust. This tiny powerplant provided the F-5N with a top speed of Mach 1.64 at 36,000 feet, a rate of climb exceeding 34,000 feet per minute, and a service ceiling of more than 51,000 feet. Its tiny radar cross-section and maneuverability made it the perfect substitute for Soviet types such as the MiG-21.
Armament was similarly effective for size: two under-nose 20mm M39A2 guns, and seven pylons to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles, rockets, and bombs. Tiger II had even improved avionics, radar, and wing extensions to improve maneuverability. Between its initial flight in 1963 and the last delivery in 1989, over 2,600 F-5s were produced, a production record unexcelled in military aviation all of them on time, within or under budget, and to projected performance.
The combat record of the aircraft started in the Skoshi Tiger project during the Vietnam War, where their F-5Cs were modified to execute over 2,600 sorties within four months, demonstrating their ability for accurate ground attack capacity notwithstanding shorter range than bigger fighters. The planes then went on to serve in air forces from South Korea to Brazil, typically equipped with advanced radars and helmet-mounted cueing systems. In the United States, though, the F-5’s main role was adversary training. Its dimensions, speed, and maneuverability approached those of Soviet fighters and were extremely valuable in such programs as the Navy’s TOPGUN and the Air Force’s Aggressor Squadrons.
These opposing aircraft were a reaction to Vietnam experience, in which pilots from the U.S. saw disproportionate casualty rates compared to supposedly inferior opposing forces. Postwar modernization revolved around realistic training against dissimilar aircraft, and the F-5 was a building block of that effort. At Nellis Air Force Base, the 64th and 65th Aggressor Squadrons employed it to mimic MiG-21 tactics, and Navy and Marine squadrons at NAS Miramar, NAS Fallon, and MCAS Yuma employed it to engage in dogfight practice.
Even decades after production ceased, the F-5 is still flying with 26 nations, its longevity a credit to good engineering and flexible design. Versions such as the F-5N and F-5F still fly in U.S. Navy opponent squadrons, refurbished with contemporary avionics to challenge pilots flying F/A-18s and F-35s. To fans of Top Gun, the MiG-28 was imaginary, but the aircraft in the film was and remains a highly real one with a rich history in air combat training and aviation lore.
