PAE Aviation and Technical Services has received $43.7 million for a contract option for the maintenance of F-5F Tiger II and F-5N Freedom Fighters jet aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps, the Department of Defense announced on Monday.
The option will continue intermediate and limited depot-level maintenance and logistics support for F-5s stationed at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., and NAS Key West, Fla. The option will run through July 2018.
The F-5F Tiger II and F-5N Freedom Fighter are used by the Navy and Marine Corps for adversary training purposes. They serve as proxies for third-generation Soviet-era fighters due to their small size, maneuverability and relatively primitive sensor gear compared to modern aircraft like the F/A-18.
The F-5 series dates back to the airframes first flight in 1963, and many variants and upgrades have been produced since it's introduction. The aircraft's relative simplicity and ease of maintenance makes it suitable as a training and general patrol aircraft.
More than 2,600 F-5s of all variants have been produced and it remains in active service with 26 countries. Though it has been increasingly relegated to a training role, the fighter still forms a key part of many allied air forces.
NRL-developed Topcoat Applied on Entire Freeboard of Navy Ship
Recently, a novel coating developed by researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for the exterior topsides of Navy surface ships went beyond small area testing to covering the entire freeboard of an amphibious assault ship. Until April of 2017, NRL's single-component (1K) polysiloxane coating had only been tested on 400-800 sq.ft. areas of ships due to limited production quantities … read more
