Northrop, Douglas Unveil Advanced Fighter
Northrop and its teammate, McDonnell Douglas, rolled out the new YF-23 on Friday at Edwards Air Force Base, showing for the first time their variant of the advanced tactical fighter that is competing against a prototype built by a team led by Lockheed.
The sleek, gray aircraft, powered by two revolutionary Pratt & Whitney jets, is expected to fly within the next month from the Mojave Desert test site, where it has been undergoing engine tests in recent weeks.
When Northrop and Lockheed were selected by the Air Force as prime contractors to compete on the ATF in October, 1986, it was seen as a coup for the Southern California aerospace firms. But the program quickly became a financial millstone that burdened both with heavy debt.
Northrop President Kent Kresa said Friday that Northrop and McDonnell have invested a combined $700 million in their prototype. The Air Force awarded $691-million contracts to the two competing teams, knowing that the money would not cover the required work.
Even under the most optimistic scenarios, the winning team may not recoup its investment until the end of the 1990s. The losing team will be saddled with paying off a debt without any revenues from the program.
Nonetheless, an upbeat Kresa said the aircraft symbolizes American leadership in the field. “This YF-23 will redefine the meaning of ‘world class’ in aerospace superiority,” he said from a podium under a bright, hot desert sun.
Kresa said Northrop, if it wins the competition against Lockheed, will conduct full-scale development of the aircraft at its Pico Rivera plant, then produce it at one of its California facilities.
“When this team is awarded the full-scale development contract, there will be a substantial increase in employment,” Kresa said. “It will mean thousands of jobs in California and thousands of jobs (at McDonnell) in St. Louis.”
Northrop and McDonnell now have 500 workers each on the ATF program.
Only last month, Lockheed withdrew earlier commitments to build the plane in California, saying it would produce it in Marietta, Ga., if it wins the competition. The Lockheed move created the potential for geographical and political rivalry, something that has occurred in past defense programs.
But “it does have a particular significance this time around, given the outlook for lower defense spending,” said Lawrence M. Harris, aerospace analyst at the Los Angeles investment firm of Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards. Although California politicians have given only lukewarm support to local defense contractors in the past, the rapid erosion of the industry here may stir the state’s congressional delegation this time, Harris said.
Whether the ATF program survives future defense budget cuts, however, is another issue. The planes will cost $51.3 million each, not including the billions of dollars needed to develop the technology and create production tooling. It is likely to be the most expensive jet fighter in history.
Only last month, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney delayed production of the ATF by two years and cut the peak production rate from 72 to 48 a year. That decision will drive up the unit cost of the program, making it even more difficult to sell to Congress, whatever the fighter’s capabilities.
The YF-23 prototype rolled out Friday is powered by two engines and will carry a single pilot. It has a wingspan of 43.6 feet and a fuselage 67.4 feet long. The F-15 that it will replace has a wingspan of 42 feet, 10 inches and a fuselage length of 63 feet, 9 inches.
It will be the first fighter capable of flying for sustained periods at supersonic speeds, owing to the new engines developed by General Electric and Pratt & Whitney. Kresa said the jet will be able to fly supersonically while holding a third of its engine power in reserve.
The YF-23’s engines reportedly have the capability of converting from high-bypass fan-jet operation at subsonic speeds to a pure turbo-jet operation at supersonic speeds. The technology that allows the engines to act as both turbojets and fan jets is highly classified.
In addition to sheer speed, the aircraft is supposed to have better maneuverability, radar-evading capability and range than the F-15. But it may carry fewer weapons.
That issue was evaded by Brig. Gen. James A. Fain, the Air Force program manager, who sidestepped a number of other questions about the plane Friday.
Northrop test pilot Paul Metz will fly the aircraft for the first time. He has been preparing on simulators since the mid-1980s.
“I flew this aircraft when the only way we could fly it was with an Atari joystick and a television screen,” he said, referring to the crude simulator that Northrop engineers put together in the early days of the program.
