The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twin-engine, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design team was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) demonstration/validation competition, battling the YF-22 team for full-scale development and production. Two YF-23 prototypes were built.

In the 1980s, the USAF began looking for a replacement for its F-15 fighter aircraft to more effectively counter the Soviet Union's advanced Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29. Several companies submitted design proposals; the USAF selected proposals from Northrop and Lockheed. Northrop teamed up with McDonnell Douglas to develop the YF-23, while Lockheed, Boeing, and General Dynamics developed the YF-22. The YF-23 was stealthier and faster, but less agile than its competitor. After a four-year development and evaluation process, the YF-22 team was announced as the winner in 1991 and developed the F-22 Raptor, which first flew in 1997 and entered service in 2005. The U.S. Navy considered using a naval version of the ATF as a replacement to the F-14, but these plans were later canceled due to escalating costs.

After flight testing, both YF-23s were placed in storage while plans were considered by various agencies to use them for further research, although none proceeded. In 2004, Northrop Grumman used the second YF-23 as a display model for its proposed regional bomber aircraft, but this project was dropped because longer range bombers were required. The two YF-23 prototypes are currently exhibits at the National Museum of the United States Air Force and the Western Museum of Flight respectively.

Prototype Air Vehicle 2 (PAV-2) joined the flight program on October 26th, 1990, with Jim Sandberg taking the GE powered aircraft on its first flight. Flights progressed rapidly with PAV-1 testing going well until October 30th, when Bill Lowe experienced a shattered forward windscreen at Mach 1.5 during flight number 16. The glass outer layer of the windscreen cracked and the inner polycarbonate layer remained intact allowing for a safe landing. The same scenario repeated on PAV-2 nearly a month later.

This particular 1:72 scale replica of a US Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 air dominance fighter that is clad in an aggressor camouflage pattern typically worn by today's Russian warbirds. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-1/2-inches
Length: 10-1/4-inches

Release Date: June 2026

Historical Account: "Aggressive Tendencies" - The 65th Aggressor Squadron is a U.S. Air Force fighter squadron assigned to the 57th Wing and tasked with providing adversary training. The 65th AGRS is based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

Originally formed in 1969, the 65th Aggressor Squadron began flying the F-5E Tiger II in 1975. They provided aggressor training to US Air Force fighter crews participating in Red Flag and other exercises at the extensive Nellis Air Force Range. The 65th AGRS flew its last aggressor mission on April 7th, 1989, before being deactivated. Re-activated on September 15th, 2005, as a component of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group, the 65th AGRS is assigned 24 F-15 aircraft, painted in camouflage schemes identical to those observed on Russian-manufactured Su-27 Flanker fighters and operates in conjunction with the 64th Aggressor Squadron, which performs a similar task using F-16s.

On July 30th, 2008, one pilot was killed and another injured when their F-15 crashed into the ground during a training mission.