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YF-23 Black Widow
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Description
YF-23 was American prototype fighter aircraft designed for the USAF.The YF-23 was entered in Advanced Tactical Fighter competition but lost out to the Lockheed YF-22, which entered production as the F-22 Raptor.
how come it looks so much like the raptor?
Why not? same producer made it,to have the same stealth level as F-22
and why was the yf-22 chosen instead of the yf-23?
well i think it was because of its cost, because usually the cost and performance should be balanced, which on the YF-23 case wasn't, but if you to get to know more about it, plz read the below text:
First, the USAF using command (in this case TAC) generated a Mission Need Statement (MNS). A MNS describes in general a critical capability that is lacking. In this case, a better air superiority fighter (details of course of such a document are classified). Once approved, TAC then executes an Analysis of Alternatives. An AOA looks at all the possible solutions (AWACS?) including non-material (different tactics) and recommends the best solution. In this case, it was a new fighter. This then leads to a TAC-prepared Operational Requirements Document (ORD), that describes in detail what the system must be capable of doing. Nowadays the ORD or MNS (I forget which) goes to the Joint Requirements Council chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Not sure what happened back then, because the JRC was created by the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986, well after the F-22 program was started. However, the requirement was validated and the USAF requested funds via the budget.
Next topic. The “flyoff”. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t a flyoff between companies…it was a demonstration of risk areas as selected by each of the two bidders. For example, one contractor fired a missile and the other didn’t. Why? Because their concept was riskier than their competitors and the “Dem-Val” gave them the opportunity to prove it would work.
Performance. There has been a lot of speculation on this board about the relative performance of both aircraft. The prevailing opinion is that the YF-23 was faster and stealthier but the YF-22 was more maneuverable.