[tanknetter]

2. Possibly cancel the F-35 and replace it with a much-upgraded F-16 model with an upgraded wing for improved maneuverability, a derivative of the Pratt & Whitney F119 engine, the F-35's radar and a new cockpit derived from the F-35 cockpit, and possibly using a licensed version of the MBDA Meteor missile capable to taking down targets around 100 km (62 miles) away.

If you look at programs to re-engine fighter aircraft (aircraft with podded engines, like C-5s and B-52s are a different story) you'll quickly see that the "fix" you propose would cost more and take more time to field than just continuing with the F-35. Specifically the very successful but also very costly effort at putting the big GE engines into the later model F-14s and the not-so-successful efforts at re-engining the F-4 Phantom (first the Brits with the Spey and then the attempts to plug the F/A-18's F404s into it).

As it is, while you address the USAF's needs with the "upgraded" F-16 suggestion, you leave out all the other players in the JSF effort. First, the USN's legacy Hornet force is trapping out to the point where we're now having to buy additional SuperBugs as a stop-gap measure. And the SuperBug is NOT a stealth platform - an at-sea capability that is LONG overdue. THEN you have the aging and attritting USMC AV-8B force with an aircraft that is no longer in production.

[RayChuang88]

By the way, F-4K/M models were quite expensive to build because they had to rework the internal structure of the plane to accommodate the military version of the Spey turbofan--which wasn't cheap!

There never was an attempt to use a modified F404 engine for an F-4 rebuild program. Pratt & Whitney developed the PW1120 engine, essentially a derivative of the F100 engine, specifically for this application; when tested by the Israelis on a modified F-4E, the PW1120-powered plane offered a major leap up in performance compared to the J79-powered F-4E and if the Israeli AF had chosen this update, would probably have extended the lifetime of the F-4 in Israeli service well into the 2000's.