They’re fielding this bird with only about 60-70% of the software written for it. Just the other day they were testing it for how it took off and landed in wet conditions. So, given this, I’m unsure how much credence can be given to criticism. An incomplete aircraft that sucks may be far different than the final product.
Lots of our very good, very successful military equipment was heavily criticized when first fielded, because we were still figuring it out. The criticism usually came from leftists who hated big bucks being spent on defense, in the hope of getting the big buck defense project canceled.
The F-22, an effective 5th generation air dominance fighter, was curtailed and canceled with the promise that the F-35 would be fully funded. This may be an effort to renege on that commitment.
The final weapons package isn’t ready yet either.