“Many of the F-16’s past problems are mirror images of the issues we see in the F-35.”
Not really. The 16 wasn’t 20 years in development and still sucking. And on day one, nothing on earth could beat it except a well flown F-15. In fact, it is still one of the most deadly fighters on earth. Nothing foreign can best it yet.
There were problems with the 16s fly by wire systems resulting in some early ones going pointy side down. That is how it came to be known as a “lawn dart”. I am no fan of the 35 but I’m sure it’ll eventually be a great plane. Strap enough cash to the hard points and you can fix anything.