Stealth fighters

Northrop YF-23Black Widow II

Competitor of the YF-22 in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program; faster and stealthier, but not chosen.

✈ In the Aircraft Database Wikipedia ↗

First flight1990

ManufacturerNorthrop / McDonnell Douglas

CountryUnited States

TypeStealth fighter prototype

StatusPrototype / museum

History

Competitor of the YF-22 in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program; faster and stealthier, but not chosen.

ManufacturerNorthrop Grumman

Specifications

Number built: 2

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 67 ft 5 in (20.55 m)
Wingspan: 43 ft 7 in (13.28 m)
Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Wing area: 950 sq ft (88 m)
Empty weight: 29,000 lb (13,154 kg) contractor weight (without engines)
Gross weight: 64,000 lb (29,030 kg) takeoff, 51,320 lb (23,280 kg) combat weight
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney YF119-PW-100N or General Electric YF120-GE-100N afterburning turbofans, 23,500 lbf (105 kN) thrust each (YF120) dry, 30,000 or 35,000 lbf (130 or 160 kN) with afterburner

Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 2.2, 1,452 mph (1,262 kn; 2,337 km/h) at high altitude
Supercruise: Mach 1.72, 1,135 mph (986 kn; 1,827 km/h) at altitude
Range: 2,400 nmi (2,800 mi, 4,500 km) ferry
Combat range: 700–800 nmi (810–920 mi, 1,300–1,500 km)
Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (19,800 m)
g limits: +7.1 g (highest tested)
Wing loading: 67.4 lb/sq ft (329 kg/m) (54 lb/sq ft at combat weight)
Thrust/weight: 1.09 (1.36 at combat weight)

Armament None as tested but provisions made for

1 × 20 mm (0.79 in) M61 Vulcan cannon

4 × AIM-120 AMRAAM or AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range air-to-air missiles

2 × AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles

Source: Wikipedia — Northrop YF-23 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Technical drawing

Silhouette

Side viewATN-05729

Name: Northrop YF-23 Black Widow II
First flight: 1990
Role: Stealth fighter prototype
Length: 20.55 m
Wingspan: 13.28 m
Height: 4.24 m
Drawing: Aircrafttotal · Side view

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