This is an overreaction. The F35 is a maturing platform. Issues are being ironed out and the result will be an incredible aircraft far beyond any other fighter

This is an overreaction. The F35 is a maturing platform. Issues are being ironed out and the result will be an incredible aircraft far beyond any other fighter currently flown. There is a product. The run away price tag certainly shows inefficiencies of contracting at this scale. Accountability is not really there for companies that do not perform to the level required to honor their contracts. Patents, required expertise, and other logistical hurdles keep competitors few. Building military systems is not software, there are so many considerations and potential roadblocks. Tests cost millions and take months to years. Think of how difficult and expensive it is to make an iPhone--iPhones don't have to perform deft aerial maneuvers at Mach speed, win the (complex as hell) radar/sensor game of cat&mouse, and hit things with missiles. $1 trillion sounds like a lot, but keep in mind our beloved iPhone company is worth about that much. My iPhone 8 certainly provides me more direct value as an individual, but the capability of an F35 is not a cheap thing.