The Northrop Grumman YF-23 is almost mythical among those who love aviation and military analysts alike. That’s not only due to phenomenal performance but because it had only two prototypes built before the program was axed. During the Cold War, it competed in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program that was upended by Lockheed’s YF-22, now known as the F-22 Raptor.
The YF-23 was a product of the intense arms race of the 1980s, wherein, under Reagan’s administration, the United States sought to outdo the Soviet Union in this particular aspect. Notwithstanding that fourth-generation fighters like the F-14, F-15, and F-16 had just entered service, the U.S. initiated plans towards developing a fifth-generation fighter to ensure that it would remain ahead.
The two main competitors for the ATF program were the YF-22, which was built by Lockheed, and the YF-23, which was built by Northrop Grumman. While the YF-22 took the contract and became the F-22 Raptor, the YF-23 became, in many ways, a sort of cult favorite to many aviation enthusiasts, simply because of its unrealized potential and the futuristically sleek design it offered. The trapezoidal wing, leading-edge cockpit, V-shaped tail, and drooping, duckbilled nose gave it the picture right out of a science fiction movie.
Only two prototypes of YF-23 were constructed. Two Pratt & Whitney engines powered it, whereby the first one, christened Black Widow II allowed supercruise at Mach 1.43. The second prototype was fitted with two General Electric YF120s and achieved supercruise at Mach 1.6. More interestingly, this YF-23, popularly known as Grey Ghost was faster than Lockheed’s YF-22.
Despite this, the YF-23 did not quite have the thrust vectoring technology that made the YF-22 so maneuverable; Northrop Grumman took a calculated gamble by leaving out thrust vectoring to lower the radar cross-section of the airframe-a choice most prescient as stealth is becoming ever more salient in the modern air combat environment. While to Cold War-addled evaluators, the YF-22 was considerably more attractive since dogfighting was still relevant, the modern evaluator may have favored the YF-23’s stronger stealth characteristics.
The range of the YF-23 was just a bit greater than that of the YF-22; it was capable of carrying larger payloads. By nature of the aircraft design, deeper weapons bays were afforded by the YF-23, which would have meant that larger munitions such as the 2000lb JDAM would have been easily accommodated without the issues experienced within the F-22. Additionally, the engine blocks in the YF-23 were far apart, allowing more room and thus offering mitigation of overheating problems common in the rear fuselage of the F-22 when in supercruise.
Despite these advantages, the YF-23 lost the ATF the outcome was determined not so much by performance but because Lockheed executed the better marketing campaign. While Lockheed’s team showed off their jet’s capabilities in high-angle attacks missile firings and 9G maneuvers, Northrop Grumman played it conservatively.
In retrospect, the YF-23 might have proved a better match for contemporary air combat scenarios in which stealth and payload are considered far more essential than maneuverability. But we shall never find out whether the YF-23 could have kept pace with the YF-22 since it is among the biggest “what-ifs” in aviation history.