Tails canted out at around a 45 degree angle. Northrop YF 23, Tacit Clue and F117 have them. Saves weight since instead of horizontal and verticle tails you have just one set doing both functions.

I think your right SOC, TR 3 might very well be Tier 3.

Its a well known fact that if you wish to spin something, place it a category considered absurd, e.g Roswell…. Given that alot of the stealth technology of the B2 was largely verified by the F117 and especially Tacit Blue, you have to ask yourself where all that R&D went? Charging air particles amongst other things can lead to drag reduction by controlling airflow and boundary layer. Likewise plasma (ionised gas) can result in drag reduction and even rcs reduction in theory. The US navy even has an experimental phased array utilising plasma to shield the antennae when not in use. What I’m saying is RAS and Ram, though expensive to develop are actually easier to implement on a large airframe than a small one (especially Ram to defeat LF radar). Thus perhaps R&D was not used up validating stealth, it is called the Advance Technology Bomber… Alternatively, looking at the way the F/A 22 has burned money in development, perhaps were giving the USAF too much credit. We expect that because the B2 costs so much it must have all these advanced features, forgetting just how expensive stealth, even fourth generation like Raptor can be to develop…

At the end of the day, politics play a role. Remember Korea’s FX competition? Looking at this deal is alot like asking where India wants to ally itself politically in the next twenty years or so… As such Mig 29 is in a strong position, so is Rafale. Typhoon looks weak in this light. Looking at fleet commonality, Mig 29 should win but IAF traditionally don’t see diversity as a logistics problem. My moneys on Rafale but maybe not 125, if only for the technology transfer plus the ability to deploy off indigenous carrier later on. Plus the French will probably offer a very discounted price…

Forgot to add the SR 71 replacement may already exist as THAPP, reportedly this Northrop spanloader escorted F117s during Desert Storm providing BDA. Supposedly looks a little like the Horten flying wing, GD Cheeky Pete ATF proposal (led to A12). If true it would appear that all aspect stealth has resulted in a new operational regime for aerial reconnaisance; slow high altitude surveillance reliant on stealth rather than extreme speed, first generation stealth.