GTP Alternative Cool Wall: 1991 Northrop Grumman YF-23 A

[Roger the Horse]

Nominated by @Exorcet

1991 Northrop Grumman YF-23 A

Type - Advanced Tactical Fighter/Stealth Air Superiority Fighter Prototype

The unsuccessful competitor to the YF-22. It was by far the more radical ATF prototype and supposedly outperformed the YF-22 in speed and stealth due to its advanced shape optimized for area ruling and ultra low radar reflectivity. It is also the last fighter produced by Northrop and Grumman. Like the YF-22, it was utterly superior to the then state of the art F-15C, reaching F-15 afterburer speeds without actually using its own after burner (supercruise).

Empty Weight - 29,000 lbs
Combat weight (estimated) - 50,000 lbs
Powerplant - PW YF119 low bypass turbofan (PAV-1) or GE YF120 variable cycle low bypass turbofan (PAV-2) producing ~ 50,000 lbf dry thrust combined and ~70,000 lbf wet thrust combined
Supercruise speed - Mach 1.5+
Maximum speed - Mach 1.8+
Radar Cross Section (estimated) - less than -20 dBSM​

 

[Bopop4]

Jet fighter is automatically a cool, but this one didn't make it to production so it doesn't really have any history behind it.

 

[Dennisch]

Cool because of Air Combat.

 

[JMoney]

It's a prototype; any prototype is seriously uncool unless it made it to production.

Seriously Uncool.

 

[niky]

An aircraft prototype is not a concept... It's a working evaluation mule. Either way, you're not bringing either vehicle to the drive thru.

I always thought Northrop was robbed at the end of that competition. The YF23 was arguably the superior next generation aircraft... Though not the better close quarters dogfighter. And it looks properly futuristic.

Cool. Because it's cool.

 

[Bopop4]

Cool because of Air Combat.

Wizard Squadron was damn hard.

 

[Dennisch]

I just noticed something. I played Air Combat when you were still in diapers.

 

[Lizard]

I just noticed something. I played Air Combat when you were still in diapers.

At least you are not as old as @axletramp who is old enough to be my dad.

 

[Dennisch]

At least you are not as old as @axletramp who is old enough to be my dad.

Grandpa*

 

[Lizard]

Grandpa*

Although I was serious with the dad part. And I am 20.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Modern fighters tend to lack the charisma of those from the decades earlier. I did prefer the YF23 to the F22 though... hmmm M'eh.

edit: just realised I referred to something from 1991 as modern. Makes me wonder how old I was when I was making the Revell F-22 model

 

[axletramp]

At least you are not as old as @axletramp who is old enough to be my dad.

Grandpa*

Ageist, reported!

Cool because of those crazy wings.

 

[Lucas]

Just realized something about the time I voted Seriously Uncool on that weird, eagle-like plane. I'm not interested in planes, but that doesn't mean they are Seriously Uncool. Rather than that, I vote Meh.

 

[BobK]

It's a prototype; any prototype is seriously uncool unless it made it to production.

Seriously Uncool.

I beg to differ:

 

[Legro]

It's a stealth fighter. Sub zero.

 

[AudiMan2011]

Stealth fighters are very cool. They've come a long way since the F-117 Nighthawk.

 

[AlvaroF]

Figther Jet=Cool

 

[Pupik]

edit: just realised I referred to something from 1991 as modern.

Welcome to the club. If you played 1980s video games for the past 25 years, you qualify (possibly for Medicare).

 

[The Bman]

Fighter jets are always cool. Though this one is below most jets on the "cool" scale.

Cool regardless.

 

[Leggy1]

Prototype? Seriously uncool?

It's a fighter jet, instant sub-zero.

 

[Exorcet]

I always thought Northrop was robbed at the end of that competition. The YF23 was arguably the superior next generation aircraft... Though not the better close quarters dogfighter. And it looks properly futuristic.

I'm a Northrop fan, but I'm not sure if they were robbed. Cost and risk always factor in and the 23 scored higher in those areas too. The USSR had just collapsed, so a big part of the stated goal behind the program had went away.

As for dogfighting, I still want to see some more detail behind that claim. I wonder if it pertains to sustained turned rates or more nose pointing. The 23 looks like it has more/better lifting surface than the 22, and if the higher speeds were a result of better drag it's conceivable that it could sustain turns better. More important than that though, it would almost certainly be better at supersonic maneuvers.

 

[niky]

I've always been given to understand that thrust vectoring technology gave the F22 the edge in terms of agility... even if the F23 proved to be pretty maneuverable, those stealthy exhausts made thrust vectoring impossible to implement.

 

[Exorcet]

TVC doesn't help sustained turn rates. All it does is provide a pitching moment. At ultra low speed where aero control is not effective, TVC is an advantage because you can still control the plane, but this isn't why TVC is on the F-22. Low speed is not what fighters like and it's not really tactically advantageous to be there. The F-22 uses TVC to lower trim drag at high speed. Not only is high speed the preferred regime for fighters (it boosts missile range and gives the fighter more energy to use against enemy missiles) but the ATF was designed specifically to fight at super sonic speeds to give it an edge over most existing fighters which had very low super sonic endurance.

That the F-22 would gain an advantage in very low speed handling because of TVC is easy to see, but that doesn't translate into a practical advantage in real world combat. The USAF evidently doesn't think it is. While Russian aircraft are famous for their low speed maneuvers, the US and Europe have never lagged behind in that area. They just didn't consider the technology important enough to put on production fighters. There are lots of experimental aircraft matching the Russian designs moves for move:










None of those maneuvering post stall stand a chance against HOBS missiles like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMSfg26YSQ