Too many unknowns. Should they really decide to go for a subsonic, loitering capable VLO design than it has to be able to fulfill many more contest-airspace missions than just launching cruise missiles (tanker, jammer, com relay, direct energy attack, &c) to justify the expense. And I think such an aircraft should not even be nuclear capable. And I’m not saying that it’s not reasonable to build such a platform, maybe not call it bomber.
Back in 2004, Lockheed made a correspondent proposal called BMACK.
Lastly and perhaps most intriguing, but also most costly, the company offered the “BMACK” common-body concept, which offers a short-takeoff-and-landing, large-payload stealth aircraft that can be config-ured as a bomber (B), surveillance/intelligence aircraft, special operations (M) gunship (A) or clandestine transport (C) or tanker (K), Perrigo says. However, he adds the cautionary note that this last concept would be tough to field by the 2015 deadline. It could require another five years based on funding and technology improvements. He says that any all-new, non-derivative design is difficult to field in fewer than 20 years and would cost more than a derivative aircraft.
from here
Back in 1999, Northrop already made proposals under the FSA (Future Strike Aircraft) project for sub-sonic, supersonic an hypersonic bombers. See here
While the subsonic one is said to look quite similar to the B-2, this one is the supersonic variant:
This is the proposal for the hypersonic variant, which seemed to be a bit far fetched, and was then and is today simply unaffordable!
Aren’t the actual F-22 & F-35 RCS values still classified?
All I’ve heard are “Marble” & “Golf Ball”
Regarding the J-20, it is believed to be “less than” 0.05 m^2 frontal, but thats all.
Discussing RCS-values makes absolutely no sense. RCS is depending on radar frequency, and the values could only be represented as 3d (ball-shaped) diagram. As this is difficult, the diagrams are typically shown 2d circular from different aspects. Attached a top and a frontal example. You see – any value can be correct or wrong…
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