The US goverment agreed beginning 1973 to the transfer of
 Freedom Fighter from Iran to Jordan; pilots training started in
 late 1973 at Williams AFB (USA) in view of the arrival of the
 first 20 F-5A and 4 F-5B, received in December 1974. They
 were used in pool by No.1 and No.2 Squadron at King Hussein AB
 (Mafraq) replacing Hawker Hunters; 31 of these last were
 transferred to the Royal Air Force of Oman between March 1975
 and 1976. In addition, an order for 2 new-build F-5B (under the
 Peace Oasis programm) was placed with Northrop during Fiscal
 Year 1973, due to the increased fighter pilots training necessity.
 Iran requested, and was granted, US authorisation to transfer
 10 additional F-5As and 2 F-5Bs in September 1975, bringing the
 Squadrons to full strength

No.2 Squadron was part of the King Hussein Air College at Mafraq, the Air Force Training Center. The center consisted of No.4 Squadron equipped with Scottish Aviation Bulldog Mk.125 for initial training, No.6 Squadron with Cessna T-37B for basic training and No.2 Squadron for advanced with F-5A/B for operational conversion training. Pilots flew ca 7 months on tactics and weapons training on before being considered operational.

By 1983 there were 16 F-5As and 7 F-5B used only for training. These could be quickly converted to war operation in case of a crises.

  
     
    Northrop F-5A 226 photographed on 21-04-84             Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast

   
    Northrop F-5B 233 photographed in flight late '80s.                             Photo: via Ramez Yaghnam

Upgrading to the Royal Jordanian Air Force equipment was planned contemporaneously to the receipt of the Iranian aircrafts. An agreement in principle was reached during a visit of King Hussein to Washington in February 1973 to supply Jordan, within the US Military Assistance Pact, with 22 next generation Northrop F-5E and  2 F-5F Tigers, scheduled to be delivered by November 1975, for both for air defence and air-to-ground attack.
A further 6 Northrop F-5B (progamm Peace Sand) were also to be added to improve training capacity, order later cancelled.

Air-to-air missiles, in the form of AIM-9J, were received, replaced from 1983 by AIM-9P-3 and AIM-9P-4. A request for Maverick air-to-ground missiles and laser-guided bombs was blocked in 1978.

Personnel was sent to Williams AFB to undergo training with USAF's 425 Fighter Squadron and an USAF Mobile Training Team came to Jordan for conversion of pilots locally; instructors continued to be trained at Williams AFB till the end of the 80s. 

First F-5E was handed over by Northrop on 30-04-75, delivery (on board of Lochkeed C-5 Galaxy in 8-pack) of an initial batch of 40/44 F-5E and 2 F-5F started in May 1975 and ended by July 1977. First F-5E local flight was from Prince Hassan AB on 10-05-75.

A new unit No. 17 Squadron was established (mainly for the air defence role) at Prince Hassan AB with silver aircrafts. At least 2 F-5B were transferred to No.17 Squadron from the Mafraq pool, later replaced by F-5Fs; the unit acts as an Operational Conversion Unit.

Badge No.17 Squadron

       
      
        Northrop F-5E 1708 at Al Jafr on 10-06-95                                               Photo: unknown

   
    Northrop F-5F 1752 seen on 10-04-74 at Azraq          Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast

 
  The second Squadron to receive the Tigers was No. 9 Squadron, also at Prince Hassan AB,
  as  replacement of Lockheed F-104A/B. Its aircrafts were camouflaged and its main duty
  was  ground attack, second duty air defence; F-104 operation ended on July 1977 with
  the completion of the initial F-5 batch delivery. The Squadron was transferred later to
  King Feisal AB.

  Badge No.6 Squadron

         
          Northrop F-5E 936 at Azraq AB on 10-04-74. Note big serial on tail!
                                                                             Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast

         
           Northrop F-5F 951 at Prince Hassan AB on 07-07-98   Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast

A second new unit, No.11 Squadron, was established with Tigers at King Faisal AB on 06-01-78 for air defence and ground attack, with camouflaged aircrafts. By 1983 it was still partially operational.

The Royal Jordanian AF received from the USA a total of 61 single-seaters divided in several orders (22 in Fiscal Year 1974, 18 in FY 1975, 2 in FY 1977, 10 in FY 1978 and 8 in FY 1979, 1 unknown), plus 14 (12) F-5F (2 Fiscal Year 1975 aircrafts, 5 FY 1977, 3 FY 1978, 4 FY 1979) to handle conversion and continuation training. An additional, former Sudanese AF Northop F-5F was also obtained beginning 1990s.
Number of aircrafts received written in black show confirmed US serials, blue numbers in brackets show aircrafts reported as received by some sources.

A request in the late 70's for General Dynamics F-16A/Bs more advanced fighters to replace the Tigers was refused by the US government. Instead it offered General Dynamics F-16/79, offer declined as less useful to the needs of the Air Force. Repeated efforts during the 80's were also vetoed by the US Congress.

Modification to the Air Force Order of Battle brought following changes:
No.1 Squadron's Freedom Fighters were replaced by 17 GAMD Mirage F.1EJ during 1982/83, the unit moving contemporaneously to El Azraq AB. This enabled the sale of some aircrafts: 13 Northrop F-5A (one as a spare parts source only, on board an Lockheed C-130) and 6 F-5B went to Greece, transiting Larnaca (Cyprus) on 14-11-83;
No.2 Squadron kept its Freedom Fighters till 1987 as advanced trainers, when it was disbanded.
Four F-5s were put on sale in 1989, one F-5B being placed on the US civilian register in July 1990 and three
F-5As following in November 1995. Another F-5B (possibly an F-5A with crudely modified cockpit) was put on display at Mafraq AB;

No.6 Squadron (equipped with Cessna T-37B) exchanged its Squadron number with No.11 Squadron becoming a fighter unit Northrop F-5E/F equipped on 31-05-85 (see below), still based at Azraq AB. It seem its aircrafts are used in 2009 for the reconnaissance role; planned is re-equipment with General Dynamics F-16AM and F-16BM.

         
  Prince Hassan AB Northrop F-5EF 648 (note overpainting of nose serial from 11648) seen on 10-04-74 at Azraq
                                                                                       Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast

The Squadron has been now most probably disbanded but will be reformed when enough former Belgian and
Dutch General Dynamics F-16s will be available.

No.11 Squadron became a training unit equipped with Cessna T-37Bs receiving No.6 Squadron's number on
31-05-85 (see above).

Operation/visits abroad and Squadron exchanges
US intelligence signalised the transit of 3 Northrop F-5A with Pakistatini insegnias at Teheran (Iran) on 26-12-71 en route from Turkey to Pakistan with Pakistani crews. These are generally quoted as Jordanian aircrafts sent to help Pakistan in the war with India, but arriving too late to participate to the war and were returned a few months later.

Known visits abroad are at Greenham Common (UK) on July 1981 F-5E 1151, 1161 from No.11 Squadron and at Church Fenton (UK) air show on 13-06-83 F-5E 927, 935 from No.9 Squadron and F-5F 1751 fron No.17 Squadron.

During the Iran-Iraq 1980-1988 war Prince Hassan AB was used as a main supply route by Iraq. The F-5s, particularly the No.9 and No.17 Squadrons aircrafts at this base, were on continous alert, just in case the war would spill over to Jordan.
Rather unusual was the use in the reconnaissance role of six aircrafts modified with camera equipped noses, operated from Prince Hassan AB.

Jordan was by 1983 practically self-sufficient in F-5 maintenance, training and operation; a high operational readiness rate of 86% was sustained. Dissimilar combat maneuvring training with GAMD Mirage F.1 were carried out regularly; J-85 engines were maintained at Mefraq AB at a local engine maintenance facility.

Northrop F-5Es participated, together with Jordanian GAMD Mirafe F-1s, 12 USAF Mc Donnel F-4Cs of the 122 Tactical Fighter Wing (ANG), 6 F-16C Block 25s of the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing and 2 Boeing E-3s AWACS of the 552nd Air Warning and Control Wing, to the exercise " Shadow Hawk 90" from 29 October to 03 November 1989; Jordanian aircrafts attacked the USAF aircrafts for two days and defended Jafr AB for two days, helped by the AWACS.

Jordanian neutral attitude during the 1990-1991 first Gulf War  (seen by the USA as a support to Iraq) lead to to the freezing of all US aid and to spares shortages for all US equipment, including the F-5 and C-130, forcing a reduction in essential training; the aid was anyhow restarted after King Hussein condemned Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in October 1994.

An unusual happening took place on 22-10-95 in commemoration of the peace treaty with Israel, signed exactly one year earler, when Jordanian Mirage F.1s and F-5s met with Israeli F-15s and F-16s over the Generazeth lake to overfly the Israelian cities of Tiberias, Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, followed by the Jordanian ones: Amman, Zarka and Irbid.

Foreign participation to excercises in Jordan include Jaguar fighter-bombers of No.6 Squadron RAF in excercise "Desert Cat 2006" from 01 to 14-09-06 against Jordanian F-16A/C, Mirage F.1 and F-5s based at Prince Hassan AB providing combat air defence patrols.

             
            Air-to-air picture showing aircrafts from different Squadrons in different colours/camouflages.
            Note US serial on tail of furthest aircraft.            Photo: archive the Northrop F-5 enthusiast

Upgrade/reduction of the Tiger fleet
A deal to upgrade the systems for at least 20 aircrafts, for the value of 15m UK Pounds, was signed in 1985 with Smiths Industries to install an Head-Up Navigation and Targeting System, Radar Warning Receivers (RWR) plus Head-Up Weapon Aiming Computer (HUDWAC) and BAe Laser INS. Plans for Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) were delayed. Selenia ALQ-234 ECM pods were also bought.
The first upgraded Tiger flew in January 1989; initial integration problems were overcome, but these problems were replaced with funding difficulties.
Only a part of this programm was actually realised due to financing problems; it is not known exactly how many aircrafts (at least 7, 4 sold to Brazil, 3 sold to Kenya) and with which systems (HUDWAC, RWR confirmed) it was actually realised; the modified airframes were locally designated F-5EM.

Reduction of the fleet was taken into consideration in 1993 in order to equip 23 aircrafts with new radars (APG-66T or APG-67), Radar Warning Receivers and HOTAS controls. An attempt to sell 4 surplus Northrop F-5E to Indonesia at a cost of USD 25m was vetoed by the US government in June of that year due to Indonesian human-rights violations on Timor issue.

More luck had the sale in 1994 of 7 F-5Es to Singapore, upgraded locally to F-5S standard by Singapore Aerospace.

With the delivery in 2003 of 12 General Dynamics F-16A, 5 F-16B to equip the reformed No.6 Squadron a number of surplus F-5E/F were again offered for sale. 

End of September 2007 the Brazilian Air Force announced the acquisition from Jordan of 3 Northrop F-5F, 4 Northrop F-5EM, 4 Northrop F-5E.
The first three, 2 F-5E and 1 F-5F, arrived at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos airport on 19-08-08.

A package sale to Kenya, comprising 10 Northrop F-5E, 3 F-5EM and 2 F-5F, technical assistance and maintenance services, painting of the aircrafts, installation of navigation and communication systems, packing/delivery and supply of spare parts as requested and training of 16 technicians was announced in mid-2008; price totalled USD 15.3m. In spring 2009 there were 8 Northrop F-5E and 1 F-5F parked at Amman-Marka in Kenyan camouflage but without insignia, still there by 22-09-09.

Losses
Reported dates of losses, serials not known, are as follows:
F-5A: 20-12-78, 22-07-84; F-5B: 17-10-77, 20-12-78; F-5E 02-12-92, 21-12-92.
Loss on 17-10-77 might be an F-5A; on 20-12-78 is 1 F-5A and 1 F-5B in flight collision.