Northrop, now recognized as Northrop Grumman, is one of North America’s leading military aircraft manufacturers. Given its reputation, it was no surprise when the company joined the effort to develop a potential successor to the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Their submission, the YF-23 (dubbed the “Black Widow II”), faced competition from a Lockheed design. Although it wasn’t chosen, the YF-23 still holds a notable place in fighter jet history.
Replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
The Northrop YF-23 was developed as part of the US Air Force’s Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, which required a replacement for the aging F-15 Eagle. In service since the mid-1970s, the F-15 was beginning to struggle against newer Soviet fighters, like the Mikoyan MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-27.
The ATF program listed several requirements. The new aircraft needed to excel in both air superiority and ground attack roles, ensuring its effectiveness in a wide range of combat scenarios. It also had to incorporate cutting-edge advancements in stealth, power and flight-control systems.
Developing the Northrop YF-23
Collaborating with McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Corporation was one of two companies selected by the US Air Force to develop a prototype for consideration. The other contender was Lockheed, which teamed up with General Dynamics and Boeing.
From the outset, the two teams took different approaches. Lockheed prioritized agility, aiming to make the aircraft highly maneuverable in flight, while Northrop focused more on stealth and speed. This led to a labor-intensive process as engineers worked to balance stealth capabilities with aerodynamic performance.
The resulting product was an aircraft with a diamond-shaped wing, chosen specifically to reduce radar visibility.
Northrop YF-23 specs.
As aforementioned, the Northrop YF-23’s diamond-wing design reduced its radar cross-section, making it more stealthy than its predecessors. It could also reach a top speed of March 2.2, thanks to two turbofan engines, with a unique standout feature being the aircraft’s ability to “supercruise” – maintaining supersonic speeds without the use of afterburners. This not only contributed to its stealth capabilities, but also helped conserve fuel.
Keeping in line with the US Air Force’s requirement for the use of state-of-the-art flight equipment, the YF-23 featured a fly-by-wire control system and an advanced radar system, the latter of which allowed for long-range target detection and tracking. For those not familiar with aerial combat, this meant the fighter could be effective in both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
The YF-23 was designed to carry an M61 Vulcan as its primary weaponry, with an internal bay that was large enough to carry four AIM-120 AMRAAM or AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range missiles, along with two AIM-9 short-range missiles.
Losing out to Lockheed’s design
Unfortunately, the Northrop YF-23 wasn’t the design the US Air Force chose to enter production. While it hit much of what the service wanted, there’s was one issue that couldn’t be overlooked: its lack of maneuverability. As aforementioned, Lockheed’s design focused on agility, with thrust-vectoring capabilities, and this was deemed more important than the upgrades Northrop brought with its own design.
Outside of its lack of agility, Lockheed just simply had the upper hand. Its design, which later became the F-22 Raptor, was seen as more adaptable, should it be changed in the future, and the company was thought to have a better, more effective approach to program management.
With the YF-23 out of the running, the two prototypes were sent to NASA‘s Dryden Flight Research Center in California, where they continued undergoing tests, but never saw active service. They have since been put on display, at the Western Museum of Flight and the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
An attempt to revive the Northrop YF-23
In the early 2000s, there was an attempt to revive the YF-23, with Northrop Grumman proposing a regional bomber variant, the FB-23. This aimed to leverage the original aircraft’s stealth and speed for long-rang strike missions. While initially promising, it wasn’t meant to be, with the US Air Force opting to go with other programs emphasizing greater range and payload capacity.
More from us: Is the Shenyang FC-31 China’s Answer to the US Air Force’s F-35 Lightning II?
Want War History Online‘s content sent directly to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter here!
Surprisingly, Japan also played a role in the YF-23’s potential revival. Around the same time Northrop Grumman was looking at developing the FB-23 variant, the Asian nation was looking for a fighter aircraft to replace its aging military fleet. There was speculation that an updated version of the YF-23 would be offered up as a contender, but Japan ultimately decided to develop its own, leading to the creation of the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin.
Leave a Comment