Well, if the BVR doesn’t’ t work properly the Pentagon can always blame the Russians but our pilots are going to be SOL.
The lack of enthusiasm by F-35 pilots might be because of a general “lack of Confidence” in BVR. You are basically flying your mother’s Chevy station wagon up there against the neighborhood Ferrari’s and Porsche’s. As long as the mission is to haul groceries, we’re good. But if the ROE’s prohibit BVR then I hope the USAF has the guts to tell a future president, “Sorry, no can do Sir!”