The video clip in this post also includes commentary from the news media at the time regarding the YF-23 and the YF-22, a rival that later evolved into the F-22 Raptor
The video in this post, which was captured in the summer of 1990, shows YF-23’s debut on the World Stage and its maiden taxi tests. The video clip also includes commentary from the press at the time on the YF-23 and the YF-22, a rival that later evolved into the F-22 Raptor.
The contractor team of Northrop and McDonnell Douglas created two aircraft, including the YF-23 prototype, for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) selection program of the U.S. Air Force’s demonstration and evaluation phase. The aircraft, the product of thousands of aerospace specialists working for 60 subcontractor companies in 31 states and Northrop and McDonnell-Douglas’ $700 million investment in developing the ultimate jet fighter, was unveiled to the world.
There were two YF-23 prototypes produced. Both YF-23 prototypes were moved from Northrop to Dryden after the Air Force chose the YF-22. The two YF-23s had no engines, and NASA had no intention of using them in any scientific projects.
One of the two aircraft would be used extensively by NASA to research strain gage load calibration methods, with the other one remaining at Dryden in storage. But both planes stayed in storage until the summer of 1996 when they were moved to museums. On a protracted loan from NASA, the YF-23A Prototype Air Vehicle 2 (PAV-2), serial # 87-0801, is on display at the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne, California. YF-23A PAV-1 (87-0800) is currently on display at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB), Dayton, Ohio’s National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The contractor team Northrop and McDonnell Douglas created both YF-23 prototypes as part of the demonstration and evaluation stage of the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Tactical Fighter selection program, which was completed in 1990. Unofficially, the YF-23 was referred to as the “Black Widow II,” a nod to the NorthropnP-61 Black Widow night fighter from World War II.
Photo by Northrop / U.S. Air Force