Some hypothetical speculation on next gen striker (Not bomber). I recently realized that pak-fa's layout is possibly the best layout for a stealthy strike aircraft required to carry long missiles. Unlike f22 or j20 which would, in my opinion, have to be upscaled quite a bit to be able to afford a 7 meter long (by 1,2 meters by 0,6 meters) weapon bay, pak-fa layout could do it with possibly half as big upscale, dimensions wise.
So two engines, spaced apart a little bit more than they are on pak-fa (but not by much, possibly just half a meter more), intakes raised compared to pakfa so their bottom is at level of aircraft's belly surface. Redesigned in shape, of course, probably more squarish like on f-22. Possibly not able to use DS intake due to that fact, as narrower but longer intakes like on j20 might be needed for that. But who knows. intake ducts would have to curve upwards, though, as there'd be little room to do so sideways, so engines would stick more up, like on yf-23. As i've seen many designs having center of lift below the center of mass of engines by such amount i don't think that'd be an issue.
Weapons bay positioned roughly where pak-fa's bay starts. One continuous bay, perhaps a meter shorter than pak-fas twin bays combined, but a bit wider and deeper. Nose section would not have to be terribly long so the whole plane would not have to be excessively long like with striker variant f-22 or j20.
Hopefully just a pelican tail would suffice, similar to yf-23 but who knows. Of course, the whole plane would still be bigger and heavier than pakfa or j20. Perhaps a fatter back, fatter front section for larger cabin, larger body cross section for that large weapon bay, wider engines, all that'd mean a lot more drag. While a lot more powerful engines might be needed as performance requiremeents would not be nearly so demanding for a striker we're still talking two hungry engines of 170ish kn thrust each. With requirement to go probably at least 50% farther, so pprobably over 15 tons of fuel, possibly close to 20 tons internally. I could see such a plane easely be in 25-30 ton empty weight bracket, so enlarged wings are a given. Overall mtow would then definitely go over 60 tons, though that'd be a figure not really used in regular missions - perhaps only for a loadout of added external fuel and external weaponry.
So two engines, spaced apart a little bit more than they are on pak-fa (but not by much, possibly just half a meter more), intakes raised compared to pakfa so their bottom is at level of aircraft's belly surface. Redesigned in shape, of course, probably more squarish like on f-22. Possibly not able to use DS intake due to that fact, as narrower but longer intakes like on j20 might be needed for that. But who knows. intake ducts would have to curve upwards, though, as there'd be little room to do so sideways, so engines would stick more up, like on yf-23. As i've seen many designs having center of lift below the center of mass of engines by such amount i don't think that'd be an issue.
Weapons bay positioned roughly where pak-fa's bay starts. One continuous bay, perhaps a meter shorter than pak-fas twin bays combined, but a bit wider and deeper. Nose section would not have to be terribly long so the whole plane would not have to be excessively long like with striker variant f-22 or j20.
Hopefully just a pelican tail would suffice, similar to yf-23 but who knows. Of course, the whole plane would still be bigger and heavier than pakfa or j20. Perhaps a fatter back, fatter front section for larger cabin, larger body cross section for that large weapon bay, wider engines, all that'd mean a lot more drag. While a lot more powerful engines might be needed as performance requiremeents would not be nearly so demanding for a striker we're still talking two hungry engines of 170ish kn thrust each. With requirement to go probably at least 50% farther, so pprobably over 15 tons of fuel, possibly close to 20 tons internally. I could see such a plane easely be in 25-30 ton empty weight bracket, so enlarged wings are a given. Overall mtow would then definitely go over 60 tons, though that'd be a figure not really used in regular missions - perhaps only for a loadout of added external fuel and external weaponry.
