The Northrop YF-17 holds a special place in aircraft history. The YF-17 was one of the two prototypes tested in the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Fighter competition, a program which attempted to reverse the trend of increasing cost and complexity of new fighter aircraft, and which resulted in the selection and manufacture of the F-16 as the next generation free world fighter. Even though the YF-17 lost the USAF competition, it was the prototype for the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 aircraft.