YF-23 Black Widow: The Fighter Jet That Could Have Replaced the F-22 Raptor

Summary: In the 1980s, the U.S. Air Force sought to replace the F-15 with a new fighter jet, spurring a competition between the YF-23 and YF-22. Northrop Grumman's YF-23, known for its stealth and sleek design, achieved impressive speeds but lacked the agility and thrust vectoring of its competitor, Lockheed Martin’s YF-22, or F-22.

-Despite the YF-23's ability to supercruise at Mach 1.6 and its superior stealth characteristics, the Air Force ultimately chose the YF-22, now known as the F-22 Raptor...