Hate on the F35 from a position of ignorance all you want.
But note, 2 different aircraft, 2 different missions.
“Hate on the F35 from a position of ignorance all you want.”
Are you saying the Pentagon’s own top weapons expert is ignorant?
http://theweek.com/articles/605165/f35-still-horribly-broken
So what mission does the F-35 do better any aircraft currently in our inventory?
I understand what you are saying, but the DOD seems to be trying to make the F-35 all things to all people. I wonder if DOD misses your point.
In concept the F-35 looks cool. I saw a video of how an F-35 could perform an A-10 close combat mission. I was fricking stunned. This is something people have questioned if the F-35 could replace the A-10.
Unfortunately, the all things to all people seems to work out on paper but rarely in practice. Costs are escalating because making the plane so versatile is a "software" issue and less about hardware. This something Boeing learned on the 787.
The last flyer that was a multi purpose vehicle was the space shuttle and by the end of it life the only accomplishment was to blast into space and return without killing everyone aboard.
Is the F35 a fighter or bomber? From what I have read it really doesn’t do either one well. It looks to be a total turkey. If I have to into a furball over the South China Sea I think I would rather be in a Raptor, Hornet or Eagle than the F35.