Saudi Arabia offers surplus F-5s for sale

Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
28 December 2014



Saudi Arabia is offering for sale 79 surplus F-5 combat aircraft that it procured in the 1970s and 1980s. Photo: IHS/Harry M Steele

Saudi Arabia is looking to offload its remaining Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II combat aircraft, according to a solicitation posted online on 18 December.

The proposed sale, details of which were posted on the AvBuyer website, will see the Kingdom divest itself of 79 F-5 aircraft that it procured in the 1970s and 1980s.

The solicitation said the invitation to tender needed to include a "2% bank guarantee of the actual bid value of the tender to be sent in a sealed envelope", adding that the opening date for all envelopes would be 20 February 2015.

ANALYSIS
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has already retired from the service the last of the approximately 110 F-5E/F/RF-5E aircraft that it received under the US government's Peace Hawk programme, so this proposed sale will not impact upon its capabilities.

Northrop officials have estimated that there are still 800-1,500 F-5 aircraft in service today, of which only about 200-400 are believed to still be in flying condition. As such, the offer of 79 'new' aircraft onto the market will provide a rare and welcome opportunity for operators to replenish their fleets, whether with additional flying platforms or with platforms to be used for spares.

This Saudi offer is actually the second time that the Kingdom has offered its surplus F-5s for sale, with a previous offer for 55 aircraft having been made in 2009. At that time, interest was shown from the Republic of Central Equatoria (now part of South Sudan) and Singapore, although no sale to either nation was announced.

With most remaining F-5 users being in the developing world, it is not possible to list an accurate inventory of operators and numbers, or likely recipients of these Saudi aircraft. Whoever does receive them, however, should receive support from the original equipment manufacturer, Northrop, which in 2010 announced that it was teaming with RUAG Aviation and Astronautics to provide an F-5 Tiger and T-38 Talon support and sustainment programme.

At the time of the announcement at the Farnborough Airshow in 2010, Northrop executives said that, although 50 years old, the F-5 still has 20 years of operational life left in it.

IHS Janes