[Secret Agent Man]

From a fiscal perspective i’d agree

From a technical,perspective its accomplished more than i think most give it credit for. Especally the stovl model the marines use, far better and flyable than the harrier.

[nascarnation]

My son-in-law works for Rolls Royce on the lift fan package for the F35B. He’s made some good money on that job so my tax dollars aren’t totally wasted.

[pfflier]

Yes and for the nth time for the critics, the F-35 isn't designed to be an air superiority fighter.

I was lucky enough to work the F-16 program from inception and it was initially looked down upon as a low cost disposable asset to free up F-15s for the glory.

Surround an F-35 with a swarm of low cost agile fighters and you will kick ass. In many ways it sounds like the USAF is learning again the lessons from the 1970's. Keep it simple and small. The F-16 has matched the F-15 for fear and respect in our enemy's eyes. Excellent bang for the buck and a valuable lesson learned..

[PIF]

It has so many bugs - the gun doesn't work, no good for ground support, can't dog fight, there is no BVR missile that will do it any good - out ranged by the Russian R7, only good in peer conflict for defending AWACs and refulers. Not much to love. And its maintenance budget eats the AF budget, spare parts supply chain not recovered from Turkey fiasco.

F-15EX better plane coming soon.

Air Force Boss Wants Clean-Sheet Fighter That’s Less Advanced Than F-35 To Replace F-16
With a “son of F-16” under study, the Air Force's original procurement plan for the F-35 is looking increasingly precarious.

[Jonty30]

I understand in the short-term that it failed in saving money, but what about the long-term? Will the costs go down long-term?

[Dead Dog]

I think this is more Forbes admitting they don’t know what an F-35 is.

It’s an Fighter in the sense of it’s ancestor the F-105. It is more of a deep penetration strike aircraft. Where the 105 used terrain following the 35 uses stealth. They are polar opposites of the F16, designed as a fighter in it’s purest form. Load an F-16 down with fuel and munitions it would need to fly a F-35’s mission and see which one is a dog.

But.....by all means....what can we build to fill the niche of the early F16?

[Kevmo]

A supersonic version of the Barrier was cancelled in the late 60s by the Brits. With updated avionics and engines, by this time such a platform would have covered 99% of the F35 mission at 1/10th the cost.

[LS]

Same thing happened with the F-111B, which nevertheless became one of the most effective light bombers in American history . . . although it was designed to be a fighter/bomber.

However, every time you go for “cheaper & more,” the argument comes back, “who wants to fly a plane that doesn’t have state-of-the-art weapons/electronics?” We found, for example, that we couldn’t even sell the F-20 Tigershark because everyone wanted the F-16/F-15s.