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Northrop F-5 fighter series were major assets in United States aerial arsenal from 1960s to 1980s, it was also designated as major arms export for nations allied with the US during the Cold War, hundreds of which are still in service with various world air forces. Series were divided between the F-5A/B Freedom Fighter  (1960 arms export) and latter F-5E/F Tiger II (1970-1980s arms export and US aggressor training). Its major combat service was in Vietnam War as weapons platform for close-ground support. For this modeling project, painted US Navy aggressor squadron camouflage only by hand brush, with no tape masking of demarcation layers, thus requiring a steady hand and patience. Northrop F-5 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-5E
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Inset 1 : US Navy F-5E painted "New Blue" all-around aggressor camouflage pattern consisting of irregular grey and blue-grey shades. In 1980s, US experimented with multiple camouflage patterns for "Top Gun" aerial dogfights, such as Blue, Ghost, Flogger, Frog, Grape, Grey, Lizard, Snake, Sand, and ever famed Pumpkin schemes. All-around patterns (same camouflage above and below aircraft) enabled fighters to blend in with ground terrain during stark maneuvers (otherwise a homogeneous color underside may give enemy fighters a visual queue on its locale). F-5E/F Tiger II Factory Paint Schemes - www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/northrop/tigerpaint.shtml
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Rollover : 6 AIM Sidewinder missiles are mounted to wing pylons, they are mainly there "or show" since model had pre-cut weapons pylon slots, so decided to mount the missiles. They are usually not carried during US aggressor training, unless for live-fire exercises. Sidewinder (named after Sidewinder snake) is an heat-seeking (infra-red) air-to-air missile, locking onto hot exhaust fumes of enemy jet engines. Sidewinder name referred to missile's snake-like aerial path as it weaves to lock onto its target, also refers to snake-like infra-red sensors. AIM-9 Sidewinder - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder
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Inset 2 : Like the Brits would say "Lovely Soldier Lass" of USAF, clamping down Sidewinder for transport, you won't find resilient and lovely soldiers like her in any Islamic fundamentalist armies, but then again it is common knowledge that Islamic terrorist Osama Bin Laden has the "hots" for  Whitney Houston despite his anti-western dogma. Photo gives good size comparison between personnel and 190-lb missile. For manual loading or transport, it requires 3-able bodied personnel to properly man-handle the missile. How Sidewinder Missiles Work - science.howstuffworks.com/sidewinder.htm/printable
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Sidewinder missile was developed in 1946 (in-part via captured research from WW2 German missile technology in 1945) and was ready for deployment by late-1950s. Like the Japanese would say "Omoshiro zo" (or very interestingly), missile first combat debuted in East Asia during 1958 Taiwan Straits Crisis when US secretly shipped Sidewinder missiles to Nationalist Chinese air force (also know as ROC for Republic of China) in their aerial battles against Communist Chinese air force (also known as Red China or PRC for People's Republic of China) over Nationalist Chinese held Kinmen island (also called Jinmen or Quemoy) a few miles offshore from Mainland China's Fujian province. Sidewinder Missile combat - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder#Combat_introduction
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Inset 2 : First fighter used for US "Top Gun" Aggressor units was A-4 Skyhawk, its compact size and maneuverability closely mimicked Soviet MIG fighters behavior. Initial batch of Aggressor camouflage schemes attempted to replicate Soviet camouflage, thereby giving proper adversary "look and feel" during aerial training. A-4 Skyhawk was extensively used during Vietnam War for tactical bombardment of North Vietnam installations. A-4 Skyhawk - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-4_Skyhawk
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2008 Republican Presidential candidate John McCain barely survived 29 July 1967 USS Forrestal disaster when his A-4 was struck by fragments from a misfired rocket while preparing for strike mission on carrier's deck. 26 Oct 1967, McCain flying the A-4 on his 23rd bombing mission was hit by enemy missile over Hanoi - North Vietnam. John McCain - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_mccain#Military_service_and_marriages
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