Northrop’s YF-23 Stealth Fighter – The Stealth Jet That Lost Out To F-22

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

Northrop Grumman’s YF-23 Prototype was by all accounts an impressive machine with speeds of Mach 2.25 and a high 1.36 thrust-to-weight ratio, yet the stealth fighter jet wound up “losing” an intense competition with the F-22.

The latter airframe became the US Air Force’s new air supremacy platform in the late 1980s. 

The Pentagon urgently needed a new air supremacy platform as it was the height of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union had released the Su-27.

The new Soviet airframe, which now flies as the Su-35 4th-gen “PLUS” variant with significant upgrades, is a high-speed, high-tech, and capable aircraft with speeds greater than Mach 2 and one of the best thrust-to-weight ratios in the world. Statistics published by “World Defense”  describe the Su-27 as having a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.26 and the Su-35 as a very high 1.30 compared to an F-22’s 1.18. 

However, mentioning that the same publication states that the F-22 can achieve a 1.37 thrust-to-weight ratio when using round nozzles is quite relevant. 

YF-23 vs F-22

Some observers, experts, military weapons developers, and air war enthusiasts might be inclined to catapult back in time and analyze the Air Force’s decision to choose the F-22. Why was the F-22 considered superior to the very capable, stealthy YF-23? Exact answers are unlikely to be found as there were likely many variables informing this kind of decision, yet a retrospective look at this does raise relevant questions. 

The YF-23 now sits in a museum, and some have questioned whether it was stealthier than an F-22. The YF-23 has a flattened wing-body blended fuselage and a smooth exterior, yet it does not appear stealthier than an F-22 to the naked eye.