It is often stated that no one remembers who came second, but the same cannot be said of the Northrop YF-17 which was beaten to a significant USAF contract by the General Dynamics YF-16 in 1974/5. Since its initial design, sometime prior to that competition,the airframe has undergone several reincarnations, changing from an intended lightweight fighter to an advanced carrier-borne multi-role fighter/attack aircraft. In doing so the aircraft has increased, significantly, in both size and weight while its versatility and capability far outweigh anything envisaged by the original design team back in the 1960s. Northrop, which was responsible for the successful low-cost, low-maintenance F-5 Freedom Fighter jet, embarked on a company-funded project to further develop the F-5E in the mid-60s. Eventually,the design settled around the Northrop P-530 which had a stretched F-5 fuselage, a higher mounted thin-wing -offering a similar planform but much larger area than its predecessor - with enormous leading-edge root extensions (LERX) stretching from the wing to near the front of the windshield.Twn canted tail fins, extending beyond the wing wake, provided stability and better control.The LERX ensured better handling at a high angle-of-attack and the 'hooded'appearance of these extensions gave rise to the aircraft's nickname: Cobra.
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