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Advanced Tactical Fighter
| Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) | |
|---|---|
 The YF-22 (foreground) and YF-23 (background) | |
| General information | |
| Project for | Air superiority fighter |
| Issued by | United States Air Force |
| Proposals | proposals from Boeing, General Dynamics, Grumman, Lockheed, Northrop, McDonnell Douglas, and North American Rockwell[1] |
| Prototypes | Lockheed YF-22, Northrop YF-23 |
| Requirement | Advanced Tactical Fighter Statement of Operational Need (November 1984), System Operational Requirements Document (December 1987) |
| History | |
| Initiated | May 1981 (RFI), September 1985 (RFP) |
| Concluded | August 1991 |
| Outcome | YF-22 team selected for full-scale development of the F-22 for production and service |
| Related | JAFE/ATFE, NATF, Have Dash II |
The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to replace the F-15 Eagle in order to counter emerging worldwide threats in the 1980s, including Soviet Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters under development, Beriev A-50 airborne warning and control systems (AWACS), and increasingly sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems. The ATF would make a leap in performance and capability by taking advantage of emerging technologies, including advanced avionics and flight control systems, more powerful propulsion systems, and stealth technology.[2]
Lockheed and Northrop were selected in 1986 to respectively develop the YF-22 and YF-23 technology demonstrator prototype aircraft, the associated avionics prototypes, and the system specification for the program's Demonstration and Validation (Dem/Val) phase; the prototype aircraft were flight tested in 1990. After evaluations, the Lockheed team was selected in 1991 for ATF full-scale development, or Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD). The Lockheed team then developed the F-22 Raptor, which first flew in 1997, for production and operational service. The U.S. Navy considered using a naval version of the ATF (called NATF) as a replacement for the F-14 Tomcat, but these plans were later canceled due to costs.
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