wolf_brother
Banned
What is says on the tin. What if the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 was chosen as the US military's replacement for its aging fighter force in the late 80s instead of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing YF-22?
PAV-2 ('Grey Ghost'), the second of the production-sized test aircraft was converted into a bomber in 2004. Northrop Grumman proposed a YF-23 based design for the USAF's interim bomber requirement. The interim bomber requirement though was canceled in favor of a more long-term, bomber replacement requirement. The same YF-23-derived design could possibly be adapted to fulfill this role as well. However, the bomber replacement requirement was canceled in favor of a long-range bomber requirement - something I do not believe the YF-23 can fulfill.I saw a program that mentioned a YF-23 derivative was developed but can't find any firm sources.
I'm fairly certain that McDonnell Douglas was the sick man of the industry for most of the 90s after the failure of the YF-23. Their double-deck jumbo-sized aircraft couldn't compete with Boeing and Airbus, and the company itself simply didn't have the industrial or capital resources necessary to compete with either. The final nail in the coffin was Boeing's 1996 acquisition of Rockwell's North American division.I would guess that would change the make up of the modern day US defense industry. From what I've read it was the lost in that program that caused McDonnell Douglas to sell itself to Boeing. I am not sure if MD had already given up on the civilian airline market by that time.
Plus names like 'Black Widow' or 'Grey Ghost' just sound damn'd sexier than 'Lightning' or 'Raptor'Hell Yes, it just looks way meaner!
Que?And it was going to be built in the wrong state. Just like the ASPJ for the F/A-18's.
I always thought that the YF-23 was rejected, because it was viewed by some as "too futuristic" and thus associated with more risks in successfully completing the program.
It was my understanding that it was widely appreciated that the YF-23 flew faster and stealthier, but the YF-22 was more agile, and thus more in-line with the Navy's Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), though as it turned out the US Navy abandoned NATF a few months later.Maybe the YF-23 gets adapted for the NATF project for a naval multirole fighter?
I always thought that the YF-23 was rejected, because it was viewed by some as "too futuristic" and thus associated with more risks in successfully completing the program.
The F-22 has phased strong criticism in the past years and its price tag has risen way beyond what was initially envisioned.
Therefore one possible outcome would have been the scrapping of YF-23, because of the higher technological challenges and costs associated with the project.
Perhaps the USAF then buys some more upgraded F-15s.
Maybe the YF-23 gets adapted for the NATF project for a naval multirole fighter?
Commisar, I could not help but be amused at your gushing over a cancelled project such as the YF-12. The weapons system was designed for the F-108, also cancelled.
You do realize Planes can carry more ordinance than stated if the center of gravity is properly balanced. An example would be the B-17. Normal load was 2,000 kg to 800 miles. Overload was 7,800 kg to a hundred miles.The proposed bomber variant seems to have a higher ceiling than the regular variant, while carrying a load equivalent to the fuel normally carried.
That was standard policy for Blackbird Family of planes and few military combat aircraft take off with full fuel loads anyway due to safety reasons and get the rest once safely off the ground from in flight refueling.Considering that the aircraft could not take off with a full fuel load, and that empty weight and bomb weight already exceed take off weight, there seems to be an enigma. Also, 85,000 ft was only reached with a partial fuel load in the un-weaponed machine. Perhaps a new thread is called for, so you can relate further details.
I can't help but be amused at your gushing over projects that don't hold a candle to the YF-12, whose production variants would have eventually been able to track 24 fighters and engage six at once from over 100+ miles with some planned variants being designed to lift a 70,000 pound penetration bomb to 90,000 feet.
The YF-23 just don't look like it could roll very well.