On 11 January 1965 Spain announced the choice of the F-5 to replace their T-33 and F-86. During the evaluation phase, an F-5B crashed near Torrejón Air Base, killing both occupants, a Northrop pilot and a pilot from the Ejército del Aire. The contract included 70 units, 8 of them being manufactured by Northrop, 2 disassembled and assembled in Spain, and the remaining 6 in the form of components and structures ready construction. The remaining 62 would be built under license by CASA in the factory at Getafe. The first of this Spanish built batch would take off on 22 May 1968 from the Getafe Air Base flown by a Northrop test pilot. The first delivery to the Ejército del Aire would be on 19 June 1969, being 2 F-5B for the 202 Escuadrón, based at Morón de la Frontera. The first delivery consisted on all F-5B, being the single-seater F-5A and RF-5A delivered later. The last of the 70 airframes was received by the Ejército del Aire on 11 April 1972.
On 11 January 1965 Spain announced the choice of the F-5 to replace their T-33 and F-86. During the evaluation phase an F-.5B crashed near Torrejón Air Base, killing both occupants, a Northrop pilot and a pilot from the Ejército del Aire. The contract included 70 units, 8 of them being manufactured by Northrop, 2 disassembled and assembled in Spain, and the remaining 6 in the form of components and structures ready construction. The remaining 62 would be built under license by CASA in the factory at Getafe. The first of this Spanish built batch would take off on 22 May 1968 from the Getafe Air Base flown by a Northrop test pilot. The first delivery to the Ejército del Aire would be on 19 June 1969, being 2 F-5B for the 202 Escuadrón, based at Morón de la Frontera. The first delivery consisted on all F-5B, being the single-seater F-5A and RF-5A delivered later. The last of the 70 airframes was received by the Ejército del Aire on 11 April 1972