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03/31/2007. Originaly built as an F-5E Tiger II for the USAF, s/n 74-1519, and later transferred to the USN, BuNo. 741519. It was provided for the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) program to demonstrate the relationship between the shape of a supersonic aircraft and the strength of the sonic boom it creates. The results could eventually lead to unrestricted supersonic flight over land. The SSBD program is jointly sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Northrop Grumman and NASA. Northrop Grumman at St. Augustine, Florida, modified the aircraft, including a specially shaped "nose glove", and the first flight by Roy Martin took place on July 24, 2003. The aircraft was air-lifted to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California and the first measurements at supersonic speed were made on August 27, 2003.