Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23 (Black Widow II)

History

The YF-23 Black Widow II is Northrop Grumman's (along with McDonnell Douglas) response to the US Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) challenge presented by the United States Air Force (USAF). The YF-23 was unsuccessful with the Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics product - the YF-22 "Lightning II" - and later entered service as the F-22 "Raptor".

The YF-23 ended its days as a museum exhibit, with only two airworthy prototypes completed during the project's lifespan.

The curved, low-profile YF-23 contrasts sharply with the sharp edges of the YF-22 and features a wide, almost pancake-like fuselage structure and hybrid wings. Sitting in the front of the fuselage, the pilot had access to a fully digital, state-of-the-art cockpit that provided relatively excellent visibility.

Air intakes were located under the fuselage for the introduction of the twin-engine unit. Two fins flared out across the thrust vectoring engine exits. There is no horizontal stabilizer.

The YF-23 has a barrel length of 67.4 feet, a wingspan of 43.6 feet, and a height of 13.10 feet. Curb weight is 29,000 lbs, with a reported MTOW of 62,000 lbs.

Performance includes a top speed of Mach 2.2 (Mach 1.6 in Super Cruise), a range of nearly 3,000 miles, and a service ceiling of 65,000 feet. The combat radius is 800 miles.

Although the YF-22 proved to be faster and stealthier than rival Lockheed submissions, it outperformed the Black Widow in terms of capabilities. It won the ATF finish and quickly ended the YF-23 design team's hopes. For a short period of time, the United States Navy (USN) was interested in a navalized version of the YF-23 to succeed its aging Grumman F-14 Tomcat family of fleet defense fighter jets, but nothing came of it. A dedicated fighter-bomber version of the YF-23 also briefly entered service in 2004 (for the US Air Force), but the program ultimately failed in 2006.

After departure, the YF-23 prototype was handed over to the Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards Air Force Base) for additional testing under the NASA banner, which also did not materialize.

The YF-23 prototypes ended their days as separate museum exhibits, one kept at the Western Museum of Flight (Torrance, CA) and the other at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (Dayton, OH).

Specification

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