[Zhang Fei]

The leftists at The Drive have never liked the F-35. This is par for the course. Better to have obsolete platforms than expensive new ones. Unionized unelected lords and masters civil servants and welfare recipients need bigger chunks of the budget. Reductions in defense procurement could fill their need for cash.

[PIF]

Yeah, the Leftists - that was my great disappointment with the War Zone; the Trump-hatred is palpable in some comments blocks; and to my reading has driven away many of the regular military guys; even correcting a leftist’s historical mistake can get your comment deleted by the Admin and get you banned.

They may not like the F-35, but the criteria for full production is real and neither left nor right.

As it stands, the F-35 (even if perfected tomorrow) can only be used in uncontested air. In a peer conflict it will have to remain far behind guarding AWACS and re-fuelers. Its cannon pod destroys any stealth and is virtually useless with only 215 rounds. It can only carry a few missiles internally, none of which match the R-77M (120 mile range) or the R-37 (over 200 mile range) for BVR - the R-37 is mounted on SU-35s and SU-57s.