It's hard to use Israel's purchase of the F-35 as proof that it's an excellent plant. I think it probably is, but FMS sales are hard to decipher; we give milita

It's hard to use Israel's purchase of the F-35 as proof that it's an excellent plant. I think it probably is, but FMS sales are hard to decipher; we give military aid to countries via FMS, but require that money to be spent on US produced equipment. We decided not to export the F-22 (which Israel would have definitely purchased), and the F-16 is a bit long in the tooth. So for their specific needs (stealth fighter-bomber) it might have been the best choice. And Israel negotiated a wide latitude of privileges that allows them to extensively modify the Adir. Plus I don't think being "lightweight" was a goal of the JSF (or its predecessor JAST) program. Being more affordable than the F-22? Definitely.