The U.S. has to stay atop of Russia. The thread, however started about "small countries buying this piece of shit plane", and Norway (my country) is one of F-35

The U.S. has to stay atop of Russia. The thread, however started about "small countries buying this piece of shit plane", and Norway (my country) is one of F-35 operators. Its current small fleet of F-16 is not enough to deter Russia; but 52 F-35s are to a great extent. Is the rationale clear? Are we on the same page? The objective for Norway is to have efficient combat airforce, not an airshow crew or a check mark on some NATO list, "has fixed wing aircraft". Now, to the maintenance costs, so far they do not exceed the rates calculated on purchase, and are lowest among the 5th generation fighters of the world (the only other one being F-22).