YF-23 Black Widow II
The stealthier, faster prototype that lost the fighter competition and became a museum piece.
- Diamond wing
- V-tail ruddervators
- Trough exhausts
- Faster than the YF-22
Specification
- Origin
- United States
- Manufacturer
- Northrop
- Role
- Stealth multirole
- Generation
- 5
- Introduced
- 1990
- Combat type
- Air
- Spawn code
- yf23
On the server
The YF-23 first flew in August 1990 as Northrop entry in the Advanced Tactical Fighter contest. It has a diamond shaped wing, no conventional tail surfaces, just two heavily canted ruddervators, and exhausts that run backwards along troughs lined with heat tiles to hide the infrared signature from below. It was faster than the competing YF-22 and generally considered harder to detect. The Air Force chose the YF-22 anyway, partly on manoeuvrability and partly on programme risk, and both prototypes went to museums. On MCS the Black Widow II is a fast, quiet, high altitude aircraft. It supercruises and it stays hidden longer than almost anything else, which lets it dictate when a fight starts. It lacks the vectoring nozzles the Raptor uses to point its nose, so if a fight turns into a close turning contest it is at a real disadvantage. Recommended for patient long range hunting.