Lancer21,
Negative, the "original" Saeghe (3-7366) retained its original serial number after its nose/intake mod. See attached image for confirmation.
Something to keep in mind concerning the Saeghes is that to my knowledge, ALL 8 airframes now started off life as stored F-5E/F airframes. These airframes were either war-damaged or heavily cannibalized aircraft. As such, the IRIAF hasn't "lost" any operational aircraft to the Saeghe program.
Further, such a "loss" assumes there is something wrong with the Saeghe program's modifications to the original F-5E design.
BT is an active member on a few forums, including the ACIG Forum, for which he has posted some interesting tidbits about the program. I thought he was a member of this forum as well so he might make an appearance. I know he mentioned that he and Tom Cooper's coming book about Iranian F-5s will include information on the Saeghe program and its possible future.
Concerning this Saeghe-2, there are a few interesting tidbits that have been identified from the many pics and videos posted:
- New Ejection Seats- Very similar to K-36L in appearance and similar to an ejection seat seen on public display a few months back in Iran. Likely the product of their Tu-154 Testbed project.
- New antennas behind the cockpit. These are different than the "Skyspot" seen on factory-built F-5Fs.
Any other modifications, such as an updated cockpit (strongly hinted at from an Iranian arms exhibition a few months ago), can not be discerned with the images available at this time.
