The inglorious end of the Black Widow. Why lost YF-23
The Battle of Titans
This machine, bewitching with its aesthetics, first flew into the sky on August 27, 1990 (now far away). Partly right are those who like to use the metaphor about the rapid passage of time. It seemed that yesterday Black Widow II appeared in magazines as a promising aviation complex. Now everyone is familiar with aviation they are well aware that the fate of the project turned out to be unenviable, and to be extremely frank, the project was closed due to its loss in the ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter) competition in April 1991. The winner is also well known to everyone. This is the YF-22, later “reborn” in the F-22 Raptor - the first production fifth-generation fighter.
Despite the fact that the YF-23 aircraft never saw the series, it went a long evolutionary path. Behind the 50 test flight of a total hour of 65,2. This, of course, is not an astronomical amount. For comparison: Su-57 prototypes made more than 2013 flights by October 450. And the F-35, so much disliked by many in twelve years of flight tests, performed thousands of flights on 9,2! However, it is unreasonable to compare them directly, not only because the Black Widow has always remained a prototype. It can be conditionally expressed that the YF-23 was generally the first fighter of the fifth generation in stories. After all, the ancestor of the Raptor, YF-22, saw the sky a month after the first flight of the Black Widow II. It is also noteworthy that even before the first flight of a competitor, YF-23 performed a flight at supersonic speed without using an afterburner, reaching a speed of 1700 km / h.
After losing the competition, two built YF-23 aircraft were handed over to NASA's research center at Edwards Air Force Base (California). Both cars were in storage until 1996 of the year, after which they were transferred to museums. Now one YF-23 can be seen in the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton. The second prototype in 2004 was leased to Western Museum of Flight.
Causes of defeat
Hot discussion among the amateur amateurs is still raging hot discussions around the feasibility of abandoning the Black Widow in favor of Lockheed YF-22. Paradoxically, they are much more common than battles around the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) competition, which, according to logic, is more “significant” in every sense. We are not even saying that F-35 was criticized, criticized and will be criticized, despite his confident victory. What is the reason? It is trivial in its own way. Black Widow II can be called one of the most spectacular aircraft in history: it is much “prettier” than the strange (if not ugly) X-32, which, as far as can be judged, very few people regret, except for the Boeing engineers who developed it.
Much more interesting technical side. And here, of course, the answers will not be so simple and obvious. We analyze in order.
Concept. YF-23 received an integrated aerodynamic scheme, a diamond-shaped mid-wing with cut-off tips and a V-shaped tail. The F-22 is made in a normal aerodynamic configuration with a high-positioned trapezoidal wing and tail assembly in plan, including widely spaced, outward-inclined keels with rudders and full-turning stabilizers. And although both aircraft developed around the technology of stealth were very different from their fourth-generation predecessors, the YF-22 looked significantly more conservative compared to the truly revolutionary Black Widow. British conservatism is not peculiar to the American military, as is the post-Soviet desire to "save" on military developments. However, no one likes extra risk either. Especially when there is a much more simple and understandable option.
Flight performance. Here you need to make a small tour of history. As we know, the famous F-4 Phantom II, for all its merits, could easily lose the melee to the older Soviet MiGs. Although the F-4’s “sluggishness” is greatly exaggerated in the post-Soviet space, the United States Air Force understood perfectly what the lack of thrust vector-controlled engine for YF-23 could turn into. The elongated fuselage of the Black Widow II, because of which the plane is liked to be compared with the SR-71, also does not look advantageous in this sense, especially in comparison with the “sturdy” YF-22. Even a quick glance at the latter gives him a congenital air fighter, which is perfect for melee air combat too.
Stealth. Since the use of stealth technology underlies the concept of fifth-generation fighter, and Northrop, and Lockheed very carefully approached the indicators of stealth. On the net, one can come across a popular proposition that the YF-23 is “less noticeable” than the Raptor. Indeed, the aforementioned engines on the Black Widow are a huge plus in terms of reducing IR-visibility. However, in the case of radar visibility (which is much more important), the Black Widow II is seen as an outsider. Despite the characteristic design of the air intake, in the case of the YF-23, one can see the compressor blades of the engine with the naked eye, which clearly does not increase stealth. In addition, the prototypes received binding lights: in general, everything that the Russian Su-57 is now criticized for. Of course, it would be naive to draw deep conclusions on the basis of two prototypes: in the process of development, “invisibility” could either increase or decrease. Meanwhile, a set of measures to reduce radar visibility on the YF-22 is more “tangible." It remains to add that for certain indicators of stealth "Raptor" we probably will never know, so the final point here is too early.
Development company. This, of course, is close to pure fantasy, but the question of the company-developer is also important. Perhaps it was he who finally decided the fate of the Black Widow. Experts and ordinary aviation enthusiasts often place emphasis on Northrop's gigantic experience in developing the subtle strategic bomber B-2. It's right. But for a start it is worth saying that competitors from Lockheed had already created stealth on account of the construction of the YF-22. The founder of the "invisible" - F-117 Nighthawk. Much more important is this: by the time they were defeated, many Northrop specialists were completely absorbed in questions related to B-2, the most complex military complex of their time and the most expensive combat aircraft in the world. It is logical to assume that the awarding of the victory of YF-23 could have prompted problems directly to the US military, in which Northrop would be in charge of priority aviation projects. It was not just inconvenient, but tritely dangerous, as it could undermine the country's defense.
In general, the victory of YF-22 over YF-23 seems perfectly logical. As, however, and the victory of X-35 over X-32 - rather ambiguous, although, without any doubt, the revolutionary aircraft of its time. We will consider this issue in detail in one of our next articles.
This machine, bewitching with its aesthetics, first flew into the sky on August 27, 1990 (now far away). Partly right are those who like to use the metaphor about the rapid passage of time. It seemed that yesterday Black Widow II appeared in magazines as a promising aviation complex. Now everyone is familiar with aviation they are well aware that the fate of the project turned out to be unenviable, and to be extremely frank, the project was closed due to its loss in the ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter) competition in April 1991. The winner is also well known to everyone. This is the YF-22, later “reborn” in the F-22 Raptor - the first production fifth-generation fighter.
Despite the fact that the YF-23 aircraft never saw the series, it went a long evolutionary path. Behind the 50 test flight of a total hour of 65,2. This, of course, is not an astronomical amount. For comparison: Su-57 prototypes made more than 2013 flights by October 450. And the F-35, so much disliked by many in twelve years of flight tests, performed thousands of flights on 9,2! However, it is unreasonable to compare them directly, not only because the Black Widow has always remained a prototype. It can be conditionally expressed that the YF-23 was generally the first fighter of the fifth generation in stories. After all, the ancestor of the Raptor, YF-22, saw the sky a month after the first flight of the Black Widow II. It is also noteworthy that even before the first flight of a competitor, YF-23 performed a flight at supersonic speed without using an afterburner, reaching a speed of 1700 km / h.
After losing the competition, two built YF-23 aircraft were handed over to NASA's research center at Edwards Air Force Base (California). Both cars were in storage until 1996 of the year, after which they were transferred to museums. Now one YF-23 can be seen in the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton. The second prototype in 2004 was leased to Western Museum of Flight.
Causes of defeat
Hot discussion among the amateur amateurs is still raging hot discussions around the feasibility of abandoning the Black Widow in favor of Lockheed YF-22. Paradoxically, they are much more common than battles around the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) competition, which, according to logic, is more “significant” in every sense. We are not even saying that F-35 was criticized, criticized and will be criticized, despite his confident victory. What is the reason? It is trivial in its own way. Black Widow II can be called one of the most spectacular aircraft in history: it is much “prettier” than the strange (if not ugly) X-32, which, as far as can be judged, very few people regret, except for the Boeing engineers who developed it.
Much more interesting technical side. And here, of course, the answers will not be so simple and obvious. We analyze in order.
Concept. YF-23 received an integrated aerodynamic scheme, a diamond-shaped mid-wing with cut-off tips and a V-shaped tail. The F-22 is made in a normal aerodynamic configuration with a high-positioned trapezoidal wing and tail assembly in plan, including widely spaced, outward-inclined keels with rudders and full-turning stabilizers. And although both aircraft developed around the technology of stealth were very different from their fourth-generation predecessors, the YF-22 looked significantly more conservative compared to the truly revolutionary Black Widow. British conservatism is not peculiar to the American military, as is the post-Soviet desire to "save" on military developments. However, no one likes extra risk either. Especially when there is a much more simple and understandable option.
Flight performance. Here you need to make a small tour of history. As we know, the famous F-4 Phantom II, for all its merits, could easily lose the melee to the older Soviet MiGs. Although the F-4’s “sluggishness” is greatly exaggerated in the post-Soviet space, the United States Air Force understood perfectly what the lack of thrust vector-controlled engine for YF-23 could turn into. The elongated fuselage of the Black Widow II, because of which the plane is liked to be compared with the SR-71, also does not look advantageous in this sense, especially in comparison with the “sturdy” YF-22. Even a quick glance at the latter gives him a congenital air fighter, which is perfect for melee air combat too.
Stealth. Since the use of stealth technology underlies the concept of fifth-generation fighter, and Northrop, and Lockheed very carefully approached the indicators of stealth. On the net, one can come across a popular proposition that the YF-23 is “less noticeable” than the Raptor. Indeed, the aforementioned engines on the Black Widow are a huge plus in terms of reducing IR-visibility. However, in the case of radar visibility (which is much more important), the Black Widow II is seen as an outsider. Despite the characteristic design of the air intake, in the case of the YF-23, one can see the compressor blades of the engine with the naked eye, which clearly does not increase stealth. In addition, the prototypes received binding lights: in general, everything that the Russian Su-57 is now criticized for. Of course, it would be naive to draw deep conclusions on the basis of two prototypes: in the process of development, “invisibility” could either increase or decrease. Meanwhile, a set of measures to reduce radar visibility on the YF-22 is more “tangible." It remains to add that for certain indicators of stealth "Raptor" we probably will never know, so the final point here is too early.
Development company. This, of course, is close to pure fantasy, but the question of the company-developer is also important. Perhaps it was he who finally decided the fate of the Black Widow. Experts and ordinary aviation enthusiasts often place emphasis on Northrop's gigantic experience in developing the subtle strategic bomber B-2. It's right. But for a start it is worth saying that competitors from Lockheed had already created stealth on account of the construction of the YF-22. The founder of the "invisible" - F-117 Nighthawk. Much more important is this: by the time they were defeated, many Northrop specialists were completely absorbed in questions related to B-2, the most complex military complex of their time and the most expensive combat aircraft in the world. It is logical to assume that the awarding of the victory of YF-23 could have prompted problems directly to the US military, in which Northrop would be in charge of priority aviation projects. It was not just inconvenient, but tritely dangerous, as it could undermine the country's defense.
In general, the victory of YF-22 over YF-23 seems perfectly logical. As, however, and the victory of X-35 over X-32 - rather ambiguous, although, without any doubt, the revolutionary aircraft of its time. We will consider this issue in detail in one of our next articles.
Information