The F-22 eventually won, but it is illustrative to examine how this competition paved the way for the advent of the F-22 ...

The YF-22 would eventually evolve into today’s F-22A Raptor, which became operational in late 2005 and remains the single best air superiority fighter ever built.

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a supersonic twin-engine stealth fighter. Designed as an air superiority fighter it has evolved into a multirole platform, capable to perform both air-to-air and ...

Ironically, a number of changes to the F-22 during the run-up to production made it look more like the YF-23. The vertical stabilizers were shifted rearward and shrunk by 20 percent.

– The F-22 Raptor has a radar cross-section smaller than a bumblebee, making it nearly undetectable. – An F-22B two-seat variant was planned in 1996, but cancelled to save development costs.

And if that wasn't enough, the F-22 Raptor could spread 480 rounds of democracy from its M61A2 20-millimeter six-barrel cannon at a rate of 100 hits per second.

F-22 Raptor’s Fierce Competition: Why the YF-23 Lost the Race. The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, one of the best fighter jets of all time, once had some stiff competition.