The F-35 is a 5th generation fighter. Thats why its going to be defending the fleet because it can’t shoot another plane down? I don’t think so.
The F-35 has had problems from the git go. The F-22 Super Hornet is a far better choice.
The F-35 is way too expensive for a bomb truck.
The F22 and the Super Hornet are two different airplanes!
The F-22 is the Raptor
Well still .. the F-35 was not originally conceived as a fighter, that role was supposed to be filled by the F-22. They were meant to work together. It is just lame as an air superiority fighter. It was meant to sneek in during an attack (after the tomahawks and other self guided munitions did their work) to clean up certain types of targets while the F-22 provided air cover.
It only has 160 rounds, a few missiles, can only carry 2 bombs; it defends nothing as it is designed to attack ground targets.
They only made 189 F-22s before the democrats (Rep Obey, D-WI) inserted a rider preventing export - so without the economies of scale the program was cancelled - particularly so since every Dem and his whipping boy in the media declared the plane too expensive and we needed the far cheaper F-35. The flyaway cost of an F-35A has now dropped to under $90 million.
Of course, the F-35 turned out to be far more expensive that the F-22 - at least until production ramps up. But, had the full order of the F-22 been realized along with exports, the 22 would have been cheaper. Now it lags behind the 35 in tech and even in tech it was supposed to have 10 years ago, worse, one variant of a particular promised tech is now on the Russian SU-57.
Which leads me to believe that somewhere like Edwards or Gloom Lake something else is either built or in building stage. The F-117 Nighthawk surprised the world, remember - and some are still operational - the 35 basically replaces the F-117. BTW: the Russian Tu-214ON recently overflew Groom Lake (an exchange overflight program, the Open Skies Treaty).
Here’s some more on the backstory of the F-35 combat deployment:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/27464/u-s-air-force-f-35as-first-combat-deployment-to-the-middle-east-has-begun
Could have used a C-130 instead of an F-35, like they did when they dropped a MOAB one a cave complex on the Afghan/Pak border in 2017.