[But it cannot ever meet the original specs!]
The basic question is who you’re gonna believe - Pentagon bureaucrats with no skin in the game, or defense evaluators in countries that could get overrun if the platform chosen over others currently available (e.g. Gripen, Eurofighter, Rafale, Su-35, F-15, F-18, et al) isn’t the best they can purchase on the market. Pentagon bureaucrats want the Death Star. Foreign customers want the best they can currently get. As of now - after numerous test drives involving other platforms - the choice is clear, and it’s not the runners-up.
Foreign customers want the best they can currently get
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Best is not just equipment specs and performance: foreign customers look at the spare parts & maintenance packages which is why Russian equipment is so popular. If the plane does not pass the tests, there will be no major export market and will cease production as unprofitable - since the profit is based on the 1300 USAF planes as well as foreign sales.