This record rests on photo-database captions and a museum visit report, not an official RSAF history. Treat it as a well-documented lead.
Identity
Serial 800 was built for Singapore as an F-5E Tiger II under the American Foreign Military Sales program, carrying the U.S. Air Force serial 77-0366 and the Northrop construction number HA1001. It was delivered to the Republic of Singapore Air Force in 1979, the year Singapore's first Tigers arrived. [1]
Recorded history
1979
Delivered to Singapore as an F-5E. [1]
From 1996
Upgraded to F-5S standard by ST Aerospace, with the Grifo-F radar and glass cockpit described on our Singapore profile. [1]
August 2015
The RSAF's F-5 fleet marks 36 years of service. [2]
September 2015
Retired as the last F-5 squadron, 144 Squadron, disbands. [1] [3]
Today
On display at the RSAF Museum near Paya Lebar, photographed there in February 2024. [1]
Displayed markings
Before it retired, serial 800 was given a special tail reading "36 years of Defending our Skies 1979-2015". It still wears that tail in the museum, so the paint you see marks the end of the whole F-5 era in Singapore rather than any one squadron or year of its service. [1] [2]
A commemorative tail makes a great photo but tells you little about history. The serial, 800, is what ties this jet to its record; the anniversary scheme only tells you when it was painted.
Seeing it
The F-5S is one of the museum's newer exhibits, added after the type retired. Find other places to see an F-5 on the museums map.
Last updated
Source and limits
[1] Northrop F-5S Tiger II 800 (c/n HA1001), AirHistory.net, photo-database caption. [2] RSAF F-5S at the Air Force Museum, MaPhotoSG. [3] Republic of Singapore Air Force, MigFlug (2026). None of these is an official RSAF record, and they do not give a unit-by-unit service history for this airframe.