Northrop YF-17

The Northrop YF-17, nicknamed Cobra, was a prototype lightweight fighter designed by Northrop for the United States Air Force Lightweight Fighter technology evaluation program, begun because many believed fighters like the F-15 Eagle were too large and expensive. It grew from Northrop designs back to the N-102 Fang and through the F-5 family, by way of the N-300 and P-530 Cobra studies. Two General Electric YJ101 afterburning turbojets powered it, and it had leading-edge root extensions, twin canted tails and partial fly-by-wire. The first prototype was rolled out on 4 April 1974 and first flew at Edwards Air Force Base on 9 June. It lost the competition to the YF-16 but was chosen for the Navy VFAX program, and an enlarged form became the F/A-18 Hornet.