This Is What A Northrop F-23A Would've Looked Like If It Was Chosen Over ?The F-22

F-23

Warzone/The Drive: This Is What A Northrop F-23A Would've Looked Like If It Had Beaten Lockheed's F-22

Many argue that the YF-23 should have been selected over the YF-22 and these exclusive renderings show what a production F-23 would have looked like.

Northrop's entrant into the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition, the YF-23, has become one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood flying machines of the jet fighter age. Today, many are quick to proclaim that it deserved to win against Lockheed's YF-22. That is certainly debatable, especially considering the aircraft's unique attributes in relation to the realities of air combat today and the fact that YF-23 checked every box on the USAF's rubric just like its competitor. Yet one of the questions I get asked the most is what would an F-23A have looked like? The F-22A changed significantly in form from its YF-22 technology demonstrator progenitor and the truth is Northrop's offering would have as well.

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WNU Editor: Some cool pictures in the above link.

A Better Fighter Than The F-22?

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: Stealth War: F-23 Stealth Fighter vs. the F-22 Raptor (Who Wins?)

The final operational version of the F-23 would have offered much better range than the Raptor—especially at supersonic speeds—especially if powered by the YF120. That would have come in handy over the Pacific. It would also have been stealthier and it would have been almost as maneuverable as the Raptor—or possibly more so at different speeds and altitudes.

In 1991, Lockheed won the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition and went on to develop the stealthy world beating F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter.

While in many ways, Northrop’s losing YF-23 was a much better design, but the U.S. Air Force chose the Lockheed aircraft because it believed that company would better manage the development program—and because the service thought the Raptor would cost less.

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Update: Should the Air Force Have Picked the F-23 Instead of the F-22? (Popular Mechanics)

WNU Editor: Regrets?

Was The U.S. F-23 A Better Fighter Than The F-22?

F-23

Dave Majumdar, National Journal: The F-23 Fighter: The Super Plane America Never Built

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is the best air superiority fighter ever built, but could America have done better?

When the YF-22 prototype won the contract for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) in April 1991, it was a lesser plane compared to the Northrop YF-23 in many ways. Though the YF-22 was a more maneuverable aircraft, the YF-23 had far greater supersonic cruise capability—especially when outfitted with the General Electric YF120 variable cycle engines. Even when powered by the less powerful Pratt & Whitney YF-119, the YF-23 had the ability to fly an entire sortie at supersonic speeds above Mach 1.4 (explained to me sometime ago by Barry Watts at the Wilson Center—who was an analyst on the Northrop team at the time). The sleek prototype jet could also cruise at slightly more than Mach 1.8 when equipped with the YF-120.

WNU Editor: The above explanation on why the F-22 was chosen over the F-23 is very revealing on how the Pentagon chooses its planes.

What Ever Happened To The US Air Force's Y-23?

YF-22 and YF-23. Wikipedia

This Is What Regret Looks Like To The US Air Force -- Business Insider

Back in 1997, the US Air Force choose between the F-22 Raptor and the YF-23 for its fifth-generation fighter.

The YF-23 had a greater flight range, giving the fighter the potential to strike much further targets.

The F-22 Raptor had a more conventional design and more effective program management, and was seen as less costly and less risky.

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WNU Editor: For more info on the YF-23, go here.