FLIGHT INFORMATION
Two
YF-23 prototypes were designed and built by Northrop McDonnell Douglas®
as part of the demonstration and evaluation phase of the US Air Force's
Advanced Tactical Fighter selection program, which concluded in 1990.
Known for its diamond-shaped planform, two large, sharply-canted
ruddervators, and a serrated aft profile, the single-seat twin-engine
high-performance aircraft was larger than the F-15 that it was designed
to replace. The YF-23 employed stealth characteristics and was capable
of supersonic cruise flight without employing afterburners. The aircraft
achieved a speed of Mach 1.8 during the program's testing cycle. There
was no official USAF name for the YF-23A. However, Northrop's ATF-23
Team chose the name "Black Widow 2" commemorating Northrop's P-61 Black
Widow, the first American aircraft specifically designed as a Night
Fighter.