Key Points and Summary – The YF-23 Black Widow II, the legendary stealth prototype that lost the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition to the F-22, may be getting a second chance.
-Many experts believe the YF-23 was superior in key areas like stealth and speed.
-Now, a new concept rendering for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation F/A-XX fighter bears a striking resemblance to the YF-23’s revolutionary design.
-Using the proven, 30-year-old airframe as inspiration could save the Navy time and money while developing a new stealth fighter to counter China’s advanced jets in the Pacific.
We Visited the Very Last 2 YF-23 Black Widow II Stealth Fighters
The F-22 might be the best stealth fighter in the world. There is no air superiority fighter from other countries in its class. The Raptor is so good that its exemplary stealth technology led the government to forbid it from being sold to foreign militaries. But what if I told you there was a competing experimental airplane that might have been better than the F-22, yet it wasn’t chosen in a famous fly-off with the Raptor?
This warbird is called the YF-23 Black Widow II, and National Security Journal has been close enough to touch it, well, both the last two Black Widows.
You can see a motherload of photos that we took recently at the National Museum of the US Air Force near Dayton, Ohio, as well as the YF-23 at the Western Museum of Flight outside of Los Angeles.
YF-23 Photos from Western Museum of Flight
YF-23 at Western Museum of Flight. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.
YF-23 Black Widow Fighter in California. Image Credit: National Security Journal/Harry J. Kazianis.
YF-23A Black Widow II on Display at Museum. Image Taken by National Security Journal on August 19, 2025.
Sideview of YF-23A Black Widow II. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.
YF-23A Black Widow Outside. Taken by Harry J. Kazianis for National Security Journal on August 16, 2025.
YF-23A Black Widow II Stealth Fighter in Torrance
YF-23 Black Widow II Has the Sting
The YF-23 has a menacing nickname: the Black Widow II. This warbird was meant for dominant aerial combat, and some believe to this day that it is superior to the Raptor.
The Black Widow II was born during a flight competition with the YF-22 called the Advanced Tactical Fighter program. This competition happened during the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the time, the Air Force wanted to replace the F-15 Eagle with a stealth fighter that would have better survivability against improved Soviet fighter jets like the Su-27 and MiG-29. Plus, the Air Force was still haunted by the deadly surface-to-air missiles that were so effective against American fighter jets during the Vietnam War.
The YF-23 Was Sleek and Easy on the Eyes
Northrop Grumman and the aerospace firm that was then called McDonnell Douglas built two experimental YF-23 prototypes. The YF-23 was a beauty and was differently designed from the YF-22. There were aesthetically pleasing, blended diamond-shaped wings. These reduce drag at high speeds. The Northrop-led engineering team made an interesting and noteworthy choice. They decided against using thrust vectoring for aerodynamic control, which was used with the Lockheed fighter.
Two Different Engines Push Out Excellent Speed
Each YF-23 model had different powerplants. The first prototype had two Pratt & Whitney YF199 engines. The second featured a pair of General Electric YF120 engines. The team in charge of propulsion was confident that their design would be more powerful and speedier than the YF-22’s. The YF-23s could go a blistering MACH 2.2 and engage in supercruise without afterburners.
Both YF-23 models were single-seaters and were 67 feet long; had a wingspan of 44 feet; and a wing area of 900 square feet. The group in charge of stealth attributes knew they had a hit on their hands with what they believed was 100 percent radar evasion qualities.
Nice Set of Munitions
The YF-23 would come equipped with the 20mm M61 Vulcan, while internal bays could fire four AIM-7 Sparrows or AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, as well as a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range missiles.
The YF-23 also had a higher ceiling and longer range than the YF-22, but what would become the Raptor was speedier and more agile.
Inspiration for Sixth-Generation Fighters
Fast forward to 2025, and the US Air Force is developing a sixth-generation fighter called the F-47 NGAD while the Navy is yearning for its own next-generation fighter to replace the F/A-18 E/F called the F/A-XX. Both new warbirds are going to be expensive, and some early estimates for the F-47 had it pegged at $300 million a unit. The F/A-XX will cost mega-dollars, too.
Why not incorporate some of the design elements from the YF-23 into the F/A-XX, which is seen as less mature? Indeed, there have been some clues that this could happen. Northrop Grumman has just released a rendering of the new F/A-XX, which appears to draw inspiration from the YF-23.
F/A-XX Has an Existing Model to Base Its Design
The notional concept graphic only shows the nose, a cockpit, and the frontal fuselage. It appears ready to launch from an aircraft carrier, equipped with large landing gear, for a future mission – possibly during operations on one of the new Ford-class flat-tops.
As the War Zone wrote, “It’s clearly optimized for stealth, with a prominent chine that blends the wing into the fuselage. The flowing, almost organic nature of the design, with constantly changing radiused surfaces, is also indicative of next-generation stealth. The nose would appear to be quite broad, which would provide a large aperture for a radar.”
Could this be a new YF-23? That possibility has online aviation wags buzzing with excitement. The YF-23 still has a loud fanbase, and you can take a look at our photos to see why. A Black Widow II could become a “navalized” Black Widow III, as the F/A-XX has no nickname yet.
This could inspire the engineers and designers for the F/A-XX who have been toiling secretly on the sixth-generation naval fighter. The Navy could use another stealth fighter. The F-35C is a welcome addition, but the existing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, while a great multi-role airplane, is not stealthy. If the F/A-XX could become a reality, the Navy would have a new fighter that could match or eclipse China’s fifth-generation J-20s and J-35s.
The Black Widow II is an airplane that is on the tongues of many aviation enthusiasts. It has a highly stealthy design and excellent speed. Why not incorporate design attributes into the F/A-XX? The heavy lifting has already been done, and this could quicken its development. We’ll see if the Navy’s sixth-generation fighter (that may be too expensive in the first place) can survive to make an experimental prototype that incorporates YF-23 designs. The F/A-XX will have to escape the wrath of bean counters in the Department of Defense and Congress to have a chance, but one way to save money is to use the YF-23 as inspiration.
YF-23 Photos from the U.S. Air Force Museum
YF-23 Back. Image Credit: National Security Journal.
YF-23 Black Widow II Up Close National Security Journal Photo.
YF-23 Black Widow II from National Security Journal Photo Shoot.
X-32 and YF-23 Together at U.S. Air Force Museum. Image: National Security Journal.
YF-23 Fighter at USAF Museum. Image by Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.
Back of YF-23 Fighter. Image Credit: National Security Journal.
YF-23. Image by National Security Journal Taken on 7/19/2025.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
Military Affairs
China’s Stealth Air Force Has 1 Mission
