it doesn’t need to be one or the other situation. there may well be both a supersonic striker and a subsonic bomber in the future. that depends on money, of course, but IF the money is there, then pla’s needs may require both platforms. Of course, the supersonic one is then likely to be smaller, not a true bomber. But as requirement creep and technology subsystem creep go on, it’s also likely to be quite a bit bigger than jh7. Probably around 50-ish tons. Perhaps even larger if the subsonic companion is a 100+ ton bomber. Of course, i’m talking about mtow here. Now, one could go the high tech route and include supercruise and the kitchen sink in that supersonic striker. That’d be the USAF way to do it. But so far the chinese solutions seem to be gearing more like the 80% capability solution for 50% pricetag. So i’d expect a bomber stealthy from the frontal sector, no supercruise but decent 1.8 mach cruise with afterburner and enough own fuel to reach 1500 km with decent internal payload, 200 km of which would be supersonic.
Subsonic bomber would be geared towards full, maximum stealth and range. Probably even trading payload for range, in certain missions. (maybe like b1 does with its bomb bays being reconfigurable as tanks?) Anything under 4000 km combat radius range would be inadequate in my opinion.
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