Yes I whole heartedly agree that the minimising the radar signature would be the top priority. I have to admit to taking elider's comment and image on page 4 and photoshopping the inlet. I'm approaching this from a totally left of field direction, more as a graphic designer, having to solve ( or sell ) the client a solution. That, and that old adage, or Bill Lear's. that "if it looks good it will fly good". A very wooly area here, but, I bet there was no budget allocated to explore such aesthetic considerations. With some testing, I bet, some solution to tick off a good RS plus a less ugly look, may have secured the vote to win the contract. Please, please contradict me with some more rational engineering argument why Boeing lost, but as a "what if". I wonder what other aircraft lost out and less favoured, to other designs because they were deemed ugly?. It's a shame that, costly as it would have been, both should have been built for service in small numbers and tested in the field. But then, I did grow up in that era when the British built all 3 V-bomber versions, instead of opting for one. I know, the exorbitant cost and time these days, to get any winner into production for armed service, and that it's totally unlike any earlier Hurricane v Spitfire production decisions and pilot/popular vote, but I do enjoy everyones contributions over such projects that could have been. Do keep it up. Regards to you all. Z