The YF-23 was a prototype that competed against the Lockheed YF-22 to
become the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter in the 1990s; the Lockheed
plane won.
Much like the YF-22, the YF-23 was a single-seat, twin-engine
aircraft, in the tradition of the F-15 which it was meant to replace.
The two were quite similar overall, being designed for air-to-air
combat at the expense of other capabilities, but the YF-23 went for
stealth and speed while the YF-22 went for agility.
Northrop had been working on the B-2, and used a similar design of
tiled trough to mix and cool the engines' hot exhaust gases; this also
helped reduce the plane's IR signature from below. To reduce sideways
radar signature, the twin tailplane was canted steeply outwards. The
most distinctive visual aspect, though, was the diamond-shaped wing,
in contrast with the deltas or sweeps of most other aircraft of the
day. Also, the fuselage is area-ruled to reduce trans-sonic drag,
blending into the wing from above as the engine mounts rise from it.
The YF-22 was chosen for production. Some of this was certainly
conservatism: it looked much more conventional than the YF-23, which
made it appear a lower-risk project. There's some speculation that the
YF-22 was considered more suitable for adaptation to the US Navy's
Naval ATF programme (to replace the F-14), but that was cancelled in
1992 before any serious work could be done on it.
Late in 2004, Northrop modified one of the prototypes to bid for an
interim bomber contract, but this was cancelled before an aircraft was
chosen. Since an F-22 derivative was also in the works, maintenance
commonalities would probably have pointed to that one anyway.
I'm writing up this aircraft largely because it was one that made a
great visual impression on me; it looks good to my sense of
aesthetics in a way that for example the DH.88 Comet, the SR-71 and
Concorde also do. Many aircraft look effective but brutal (the F-15,
the B-58); this one looks as if someone got something fundamentally
right at an early stage. It doesn't so much beat the air out of the
way as whisper sweet nothings into its ear.
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