The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23A was a contender in the bid for an advanced tactical fighter to replace the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in US Air Force service. The first of two prototypes flew in August 1990, the second aircraft being powered by General Electric YF120-GE-100 turbofan engines. The YF-23A was designed to be ultra-stealthy and incorporated many of the stealth features of the Northrop
Grumann B-2 bomber, and all its planned weaponry was to be housed in an internal bay to reduce the radar signature. The two YF-23s
successfully completed their flight test programme, but the Lockheed YF-22 was selected to meet the USAF requirement.
Robert Jackson "The Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 2004
Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 Black Widow II on YOUTUBE
Dennis Hussted is correct. In today world is not the best aircraft get the contract. Is the most political and cheapest. I beleive the YF-23 will make a come like the YF-17 as F /A-18
I was taking a computer programming class in college and I was required to give a report on technology applications in the 21st Century. I chose the ATF competition and read all I could and studied both planes and read everything I could. 1.YF-23 was faster than the YF-22. 2.YF-23 could out accelerate a clean F-16 in afterburner going vertical. 3.The first time the YF-23 took off it reached a speed that was immediately classified which impressed the Air Force. 4.The YF-23 was much stealthier than the YF-22. 5.The YF-23 had a far less drag penalty than the YF-22 because of it's thrust vectoring nozzles which had a significant weight penalty. 6.The YF-23 proved to be much more maitainable by not having any flight delays due to maintenance problems which resulted in the YF-23 finishing all flight tests almost two months earlier than the YF-22. 7.The YF-23 had fewer parts to maintain versus the YF-22. 8.1000 fighter pilots were polled and asked which was more important to them in a dog fight:Speed or manuverability, over 90% chose speed! 9.The YF-23 had a greater range and was more aerodynamic and could fly farther are less fuel than the YF-22. 10.Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia was Chairman of the Armed Services Committee and the Lockheed-Martin plant is in Georgia whereas Northrop is in California. Sam Nunn influenced the Air Force to select the F-22 or their may not be enough money to fund any other program. Even though Northrop would have added 3000 more jobs over Lockheed, Nunn was not concerned about generating more jobs for the country as a whole as he was for Georgia to improve his chances or re-election. The F-22 decision was political.
the YF-23 was agreat looking fighter, it had a greater mass than the F-22 AND ALSO LEFT WATER VAPER TRAILS IN ITS FLIGHTS THAT COULD BE PICKED UP BY RADAR THAT WAS THE BIGGEST REASON IT WAS NOT PICKED AND IT WAS FASTER THAN THE YF22.
The Yf-23 lost the contract for several reasons. -It was slightly harder to maintain than the F-22. -The YF-23 was less manuverable that the F-22. -It was also a more expensive aircraft over all, but not by much. -A possible sub reason is that the Yf-23 is large in size compared to the F-15 that it would have replaced had it got the contract. (YF-23 Length:67 feet, 5 inches [20.6 meters]; F-15 Length:63 feet, 9 inches [19.43 meters]) On the other hand, the YF-23 had a slightly better radar cross section than the F-22, though debatable, many say that the YF-23 was the better looking plane. many people thatI have talked to thingt the Yf-23 should have been given a contracts to replace the F-117 Nighthawk, but that probably wont happen.
the Yf-23 lost the contract because the F-22 has a more convential looking plane than the F-22 and the F-23 was considered to radical for the time What i have read about the atf competition it was the airforces heirachy that decided that That is why the airforce has the F-22 and not F-23 i think the F-23 should have won and not he F-22
