Aerospace & Defense
The YF-23 was built to fly faster than sound without afterburners and without giving up its stealth, and in the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition...
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The YF-23 was built to fly faster than sound without afterburners and without giving up its stealth, and in the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition...
Northrop and McDonnell Douglas built the YF-23 around one bet: never be seen. It had a diamond wing, two splayed V-tails, no thrust-vectoring nozzles,...
YF-23: The familiar version of this story is that the Air Force chose comfort over vision. It is emotionally satisfying and it explains almost...
Northrop built exactly two YF-23 prototypes for the competition that produced the F-22, and both still exist. I've stood next to each, a month...
While the YF-23 fought for the Air Force contract, Northrop was drawing a carrier version to replace the F-14: folding wings, twin tails, canards,...
On April 23, 1991, the Air Force picked the YF-22 over a competitor that was stealthier, faster, and longer-legged. Thirty-five years later, every sixth-generation...
The YF-23 Was Stealthier and Faster. The Air Force Picked the F-22 Anyway. We Got Up-close the Black Widow II. Maybe the Air Force...
The YF-23 represents a fundamental design philosophy that prioritized all-aspect stealth and high-speed persistence over dogfighting agility. In the 2026 strategic landscape, where long-range...
The YF-23, Northrop Grumman's "diamond-winged" contender for the Advanced Tactical Fighter contract, remains the ultimate "what-if" of the fifth-generation era. While the F-22 Raptor...
Summary and Key Points: Northrop’s YF-23 Black Widow II remains the great “what if” of the ATF competition—praised for stealth shaping, speed, range, and...