Two teams competed: Northrop Grumman with the YF-23 and Lockheed Martin with the YF-22, which would become the F-22 Raptor.

The YF-23 competed in the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program during the Cold War but lost to Lockheed's YF-22, which became the F-22 Raptor. The YF-23 was admired for its stealth, speed ...

The Pentagon funded the YF-22 over the cheaper YF-23 when they knew it was a far more problematic warplane—purely out of a desire to keep Lockheed Martin alive.

Of course, the same is said of the bird that ultimately beat the YF-23, the YF-22 (now designated the F-22 Raptor). By most accounts, however, the Black Widow II was even better than the plane ...