The F-35 massively outperforms any 4th gen at Red Flag in air-to-air. F-15E and A10 have advantages in ground support vs enemies without proper anti-air defense

The F-35 massively outperforms any 4th gen at Red Flag in air-to-air. F-15E and A10 have advantages in ground support vs enemies without proper anti-air defense, but the F-35 has massive advantages against enemies with serious air defences, such as S300 and S400. (Just look at how both Russian and Ukrainian air forces have to stay at low altituteds and stick to friendly air space in the Ukraine war). The only nation that is a realistic threat to Finland, is Russia, and against Russia, the F-35 is a near-perfect aircraft. By having F35, Finland also has much improved capabilities to interoperate with Nato nations. If the US needs to reinforce Finland's air bases, US planes can be serviced locally. Or if Finland is being overwhelmed, their fighters can fall back to Norway, Denmark or Germany. Apart from operating costs, there are very few disadvantages to the F-35.