Aerospace & Defense
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...
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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...
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...
The Navy’s flirtation with a carrier-based Advanced Tactical Fighter sprang from a late–Cold War problem: replacing the F-14 with something stealthier, longer-ranged, and optimized...
Summary and Key Points: The Northrop YF-23 “Black Widow II” is often remembered as the loser of the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition against...
The Real Reason the YF-23 Lost: It Wasn’t About Performance, It Was About Change For thirty years, the YF-23 Black Widow II has lingered...
The Advanced Tactical Fighter competition pitted Lockheed’s YF-22 against Northrop’s more radical YF-23 as the Air Force sought a successor to the F-15 built...
Key Points and Summary – The Northrop–McDonnell Douglas YF-23 “Black Widow II” was the stealthier, longer-legged rival to Lockheed’s YF-22 in the Advanced Tactical...