Initially designed by General Dynamics as a low-cost supermanuverable export fighter in the late 1980's (with the first succesful test flight in 1989), the YF-19 was built around three key traits: manuverability, controllability, and cost-effectiveness. Intended to be cheap and user-friendly enough to be rapidly replaced in the event of a high attrition air-war with the Soviets while still being agile enough to effectively engage modern Soviet air-superiority fighters like the SU-27 and Mig-29, the Peregrine's design team sacrificed payload and versatility to create a very light aircraft with a very large wing and a high thrust-to-weight-ratio. However, with the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991, nearly all potential military intrest in the fighter vanished overnight. A total of 23 aircraft were built, which were eventually purchased by Lockheed-Martin in 1993 (alongside the rights to the F-16), and have spent the intervening years as technology demonstrators and airshow atractions.