I genuinely don't think there's a sexier plane in existence.

R-Raptor-san... l-loves you t-too...

I know they're ******* awesome

not a big fan, still think the YF-23 was a better choice...

I don't like how the wings on the YF are barely swept back. Looks too bulky, the raptor looks so much more sleek. To each his own, i guess

Well you have to compare it to the YF 22, which was so much more edgy and bulky compared to the slick curves and unconventional design of the YF-23. (Come on, no horizontal stabilizer and yet awesome performance? No wayyyyy)


Keep in mind that the YF-23 had also a navy variant sketch design, something the YF-22 is missing. FM was better under all aspects.

However, McDonnell Douglas was already in a bad situation. Only 7 years later it closed.

It's clear that to everyone that the US did not choose the airplane because of performance but because of lobbysm, in fact, this was the last competition for fighters in the US and now Lockhead now doesn't have anymore competitors; which is not a good thing, since competitions is what drives technolgies forward.

Design comparison picture : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_YF-23#/media/File:YF-22_and_YF-23.jpg

NATF-23 (navy variant) design: notreally.info/transport/planes/natf/natf-23/img/natf.gif

NATF-23 : notreally.info/transport/planes/natf/natf-23/img/natf.gif