|
Not really connected to the current discussion, but interestingly TSFIA translations that came out on /m/ confirm that the YF-23 did actually have similar stealth capability to the YF-22(well, stealth was one of the basic tenets of the IRL ATF program, so I guess that's not so surprising) and actually was seemingly better not just at anti-BETA combat (higher killcount, deeper simulated Hive penetration), but also better at anti-TSF combat than the YF-22, scoring more wins than the YF-22 in direct versus combat. Apparently so completely dominating the YF-22 that even Lockheed's president thought they'd lost until the ATSF board announced their shocking decision.
So it wasn't a question of balancing anti-BETA capability against anti-TSF capability/stealth after all, just cost and combat doctrine compatibility. Glad that's put to rest. That's one less thing to criticize ML Americans about.
Well you could criticize them for adding stealth to the basic requirements of the ATSF candidates to begin with, but they were just taking the long view of "the reasons of a foreseeable BETA defeat , the effective elimination of Laser threat and an predicted increase in global arms race and space race".
|