I think we need to remember that there are two major perspectives for evaluating something like this: comparing it to what it was supposed to be and comparing i

I think we need to remember that there are two major perspectives for evaluating something like this: comparing it to what it was supposed to be and comparing it to what came before. Undoubtedly the F-35, simply by virtue of being developed later, has a lot of lessons learned and new technology baked into it that certainly will scratch an itch for some people. However the major problems which were the impetus for the F-35's development largely remain unaddressed so there's certainly a large group that didn't get what they were looking for. Ironically, it might be perfectly accurate to describe it as simultaneously the smartest and stupidest modern fighter jet.