Great video:
DCS Version? Calling @wagmatt, @nicholas.dackard 
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It was so beautiful. Plus Chuck was selling it. Oil money and/or ego forced some countries to go with the F-15 when the F-20 probably suited their needs better. Great video and surprisingly detailed.
I thought that the F-16 might have been its main competition, being a lower cost light weight design than the Eagle was.
There’s that and the F-20 was a response to a Carter administration restriction on transfer of state of the art weapons technology out of the US. The thought was we could sell capable, but not state of the art aircraft to allied states without risking the soviets getting a hold of high performance western technology. This is the same sort of thing that spawned the F-16/79.
It all kind of got brushed away when Reagan came into office and began rapidly removing these restrictions.
Why buy a cheaper, less capable F-16 or F-16 Analog when you can just buy an F-16?
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This is it, most countries do not have the buying power that the USA has, so they prefer buying a few very capable aircraft vis a vis a lot of the less capable types. Besides, the F-5 was not that different and quite suitable as a stop gap or trainer aircraft between old aircraft like the F-104 and newer F-16’s.
Did you notice in the video the veiled slights against the F-16? In particular in how the narrator emphasized the lack of an AOA limiter in the FBW software. I wonder how the F-20 faired against the F-16 in a close 1v1. I’m guessing unfavorably since nobody bought it. The cartridge start was cool!
Cartridge starters are a favourite of old jet fighters 
Many of the first gen jet engines had a optional cartridge starter if one was so inclined.
It was up against the F-16 in pretty much all area’s given that it operated in the same price bracket .The wikipedia article expands a little on what is equal between them but not so much the differences unfortunately.
EDIT: Found this gem from our great friend Mr Sprey in the linked article
We wanted hot, light airplanes that were just as stripped-down as possible… They took an austere, stripped-down F-5 and ruined it by loading crap on it. Adding Sparrow missiles required huge complexity on the airplane. Adding air-to-ground capability ruined the F-20A.
Pierre Sprey, DoD senior analyst.[70]
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That sounds like Sprey . Modern avionics is no substitute for light weight and a good gun …
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At one point I listened to what he would say. But I think he’s been stuck in the Korea/early Vietnam mindset for too long. A modern fighter isn’t about flying close and getting bullets to rain on your enemy, it’s about being a chess piece in a much larger dynamic theatre. I don’ t think he has ever read a book about modern warfare and the integrated systems they use.
Didn’t the F-20 retain the M39’s? At that point we’re just talking light weight.
@AeroMechanical had a bit of a point that figures like Sprey inhabit a useful role in that they produce a well reasoned, well researched (batshit) argument that forces you to go back and reflect on what you’ve done and what you’re doing, and ultimately decide if it’s right or needs adjustment.
That said I wouldn’t let him design a jet anymore. Our Air Force would consist entirely of MiG-17s.
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I suppose we can be happy that he is retired.
I meant that more as a generalization of his argument.
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Sprey is anti-everything it seems…
I think Sprey considers himself the last sane voice speaking against the US military industrial complex. Whether or not that’s true is something I’m going to ignore and step away from.
For what it’s worth, his articles at least always make me think and challenge or re-verify some of my existing assumptions and values. So I guess there’s some value there. Other opinions of his definitely make me wonder if he’s read the news since 1975.
Sprey’s conclusions about programs like the F-35 and F-22 would be correct if considered from the POV of aircraft design in the 1960s.
In otherwords, he doesn’t seem to understand that the fuselage can be used to lift and a lot of it.
Now, Mike Sparks of CombatReform… he is a hoot.