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Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II Advanced Tactical Fighter Prototype Family

The Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II was a two-prototype Advanced Tactical Fighter demonstrator that competed against the YF-22A in the late-1980s and early-1990s U.S. Air Force program. The Northrop-led design emphasized stealth and omitted thrust vectoring; the YF-22A won the 1991 competition and the YF-23A program ended without production aircraft.

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Identity

Aliases
Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23AYF-23AYF-23Black Widow IIAdvanced Tactical Fighter prototype
Family Name
Northrop YF-23 Black Widow II
Full Name
Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II Advanced Tactical Fighter Prototype Family
Roles
militaryexperimentaltechnology_demonstrator
Status
retired
Type
aircraft

Details

Aircraft Specs
Configuration
fixed_wing
Crew Capacity
1
Operating Modes
land
Takeoff Landing Capabilities
conventional
Description
The Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II was a two-prototype Advanced Tactical Fighter demonstrator that competed against the YF-22A in the late-1980s and early-1990s U.S. Air Force program. The Northrop-led design emphasized stealth and omitted thrust vectoring; the YF-22A won the 1991 competition and the YF-23A program ended without production aircraft.
First Flight Year
1,990
Manufacturer
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Nested value
    Name
    YF-23A twin-engine YF119 installation
    Notes
    The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force identifies two Pratt & Whitney YF119-PW-100 engines; the canonical F119 family node is used because no exact YF119-PW-100 propulsion record exists.

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Creation Time
August 15, 2026 at 02:20:54 UTC
Updated Time
August 15, 2026 at 02:20:54 UTC