Looking back on the F-22 program’s evolution, the Air Force probably made an error in selecting Lockheed’s YF-22 in the advanced tactical fighter competition in the late 1980s, since Northrop Grumman’s YF-23 was the better model, Barry Watts, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said Tuesday at the Center for National Policy’s forum on the F-22 in Washington, D.C. Watts said Northrop’s engineers spent a lot of time making sure the YF-23 could be easily transitioned with little modification into a fighter bomber boasting a 1,500-mile combat radius without much effect on its low-observable capabilities. In hindsight, Watts said, the Air Force probably went with the Lockheed design due to the overruns associated with Northrop’s B-2A bomber program since it would avoid the appearance of putting all the eggs in one basket. (For more Daily Report coverage on CNP’s Raptor forum, read The Raptor Numbers Game)
NATO Scrambles Fighter in Newest Response to Russian Drones
Sept. 16, 2025
NATO scrambled its first fighter Sept. 13 under its new plan to bolster its defenses against Russian air incursions that was put into place after an array of Russian drones flew into Polish airspace last week, the officials from the alliance’s military command said.
