Northrop YF-23
The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 Black Widow II — named after the P-61 Black Widow — was a prototype fighter aircraft designed for the United States Air Force. It was passed over in favor of the YF-22 that has entered production as the F-22 Raptor.
The YF-22 and YF-23 were competing in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter program. Conceived in the early 1980s, to specify a replacement for the F-15 Eagle, contracts for the two most promising designs were awarded in 1986, with the YF-23 delivered in 1989 and the evaluation concluded in 1991. Many levels of subcontractors were lined up on each side of the decision, and some on the losing side did not survive long afterwards.
The YF-23 was designed with stealth as a high priority and was a highly unconventional-looking aircraft with diamond-shaped wings and a V-tail. The YF-23A met USAF requirements for survivability, supersonic cruise, stealth, and ease of maintenance. However, the YF-22A was more maneuverable than the YF-23A and won the competition in April 1991. Another factor was that the YF-22A was also seen as more adaptable to the Navy's NATF, though as it turned out the Navy abandoned NATF a few months later. [1] Although the precise results of the evaluation are not yet public knowledge, it is often claimed that the YF-23 was faster and stealthier than its competitor, but the USAF chose the YF-22 due to ease of production, maintenance, and potential for future development, as well as its relatively lower production cost. On the other hand, some say that the YF-22 was chosen for its superior subsonic maneuverability due to thrust vectoring, and the YF-23's comparatively flawed weapons release mechanism. Regarding the latter: missiles were stacked on racks, and a weapons jam of a lower-positioned missile could prevent the firing of the missile above it. In any case, the decision is still widely debated. It is also commonly believed that the F-22 was chosen over the YF-23 to reward Lockheed for its performance in the delivery and maintenance of the F-117 Nighthawk airplane and also due to the over-cost and late delivery of the Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
Two aircraft were built. One is now an exhibit at the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne, California and the other was recently moved to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio, where it sits along side the Boeing X-32 in one of the Museum's restoration hangers awaiting restoration for display.
In late 2004, Northrop Grumman proposed a YF-23 based design for the USAF's interim bomber requirement, a role for which the FB-22 and B-1R are also competing.
Popular culture
- The YF-23 appears in the PC game Strike Commander.
- The YF-23 was featured in the games Jetfighter II (1991), Aircombat II (1991), "ID4: Independence Day") (1996), Super Aircombat (1997), Super Air Combat II (1997), Airforce Delta(1997) Lethal Skies (2002) Destroy Mover (2003)
Specifications (YF-23, as designed)
General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
Performance
- Thrust/weight: 1.4
Armament
- 1× 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon
- 6× air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder
External link
Related content
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