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 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 (1981-05) (RFI), September 1985 (1985-09) (RFP)
Concluded	August 1991 (1991-08)
Outcome	YF-22 team selected for full-scale development of the F-22 for production and service
Variations	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 with a leap in performance and capability over the F-15 Eagle 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 system (AWACS), and increasingly sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems. The ATF would take 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 the YF-23 technology demonstrator aircraft and associated avionics prototypes for the program's Demonstration and Validation (Dem/Val) phase. These 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 for production and operational service.