Tactical Air Support flew through 15,000 Class A Mishap Free Flight Hours

Tactical Air Support was founded in 2005 by a tight knit group of Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force Weapon’s School Graduates and Test Pilots committed to applying their extensive experience to increase the readiness of the Warfighter.  Their motto was “We Serve Those Who Serve”.  That is still the motto of Tactical Air Support today.  In that spirit, the F-5 Advanced Tiger (AT) was conceived to provide a low cost, reliable, high fast flying aggressor with passive jam shoot capability to meet the aerial combat training objectives of warfighters.  

On 26 March 2019, Tactical Air Support flew the first sortie of the F-5 Advanced Tiger, an internally designed and funded Advanced Adversary training jet.  Seven years to the day after that first flight Tactical Air Support flew past 15,000 class A mishap free flight hours in the F-5AT.  The F-5 was chosen for safety, capability, and value.  

The F-5 is a proven, dependable, and reliable ADAIR platform that has served the DoD as an aggressor aircraft for decades. To improve safety, efficiency, and reliability, we have equipped all F-5ATs with the Garmin G3000 Flight Deck. This top-of-the-line, commercially available system is currently flying in the world’s most advanced commercial and corporate aircraft. The Garmin suite provides a certified primary flight and navigation display (PFD-NAV) with the Garmin Synthetic Vision System, 2xVHF and 2xUHF radios, 2xVOR/ILS, 2xTACAN, 2xGPS, additional GPS-aided INS, Electronic Flight Bag, FMS supporting LPV approaches, composite weather, Terrain Avoidance and Warning System (TAWS), and Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). The entire cockpit is Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) compatible.  

Tactical Air Support tested, installed, and fielded a state-of-the-art anti-skid braking system, a comprehensive departure/recovery display, and an advanced active TCAS. We have also purchased improved Martin Baker II ejection seats with 0 knots/0 feet ejection capability and have begun installing them in all F-5Ats. These updates and modifications, coupled with the redundant two-engine design, enable the F-5AT to operate safely in a variety of weather conditions and in congested military airspace and airfields.  

The F-5AT currently flies at a 96% mission completion rate, a maintenance cancel rate below 2%, and an inflight abort rate well below 1% in support of Combat Air Forces Contracted Air Services contracts. This exceptional level of consistent support is achieved through the combination of experienced and professional mechanics, capable of high tempo flight line maintenance. This reliable aircraft is capable of a monthly utilization rate of 20+ sorties per aircraft. Our reliability minimizes lost training opportunities for the warfighter due to adversary availability. In addition, the F-5’s inherently sleek design coupled with the F-5AT’s incorporation of internal jammer and InfraRed Search and Track (IRST), results in a lower fuel burn rate than other high performance, supersonic aircraft. This results in significant fuel cost savings per flight hour.  

Our technological upgrades have transformed this reliable fighter into a formidable aircraft that is equally adept at Beyond Visual Range (BVR) and Within Visual Range (WVR) missions making it the perfect dissimilar adversary. We have invested heavily with U.S. based industry partners and suppliers to develop a low-risk plan for a safe, modern, and affordable ADAIR platform while also providing needed flight testing to expedite the delivery of advanced technologies to the warfighter. Our pilots, coupled with advanced radar hardware and software, Long Wave InfraRed Search and Track (LW IRST), internal Digital Radio Frequency Memory Electronic Attack (DRFM EA) jammer, Link-16, TCAS, fully integrated Helmet Mounted Cuing System (HMCS), and validated threat Weapon Engagement Zones (WEZs), present a threat replication that is economically scalable to meet all fighter pilot training needs and test objectives. Using the Venom^® Mission Management Software, the F-5AT combines these capabilities into a missionized “F-35 like” Tactical Situation Display (TSD) capable of presenting WEZ and semi-active missile estimations. All data is recorded for efficient and effective debrief.   

The Tactical Air Support warrior spirit of innovation and dedication that drove capability enhancements into the F-5AT has also led to the expansion of the F-5AT Fleet.  TAS owns 63 F-5E/F aircraft and is upgrading/modifying them to the F-5AT configuration. To date, we have fully modified and gained FAA airworthiness on 19 aircraft in the F-5AT configuration.  

Long term plans include modifying 6 aircraft per year to the F-5AT configuration through 2029, yielding a fleet size of 44 F-5ATs. TAS operates two modernization and maintenance facilities to quickly expand the F-5 AT capability as needed to meet USAF training demands.  These facilities are strategically located on the East Coast at Jacksonville, Florida and on the West Coast at Reno, Nevada.  Combined these facilities can simultaneously upgrade 18 fighters.