If the specs would be the predominant factor to the success of a military jet, the Avro Arrow would have been a massive export success, and the SR-71 would stil

If the specs would be the predominant factor to the success of a military jet, the Avro Arrow would have been a massive export success, and the SR-71 would still be flying. Reality is pretty different and the arcane of politics dominate military contracts. Even if the US came with an half-baked scooter branded as a fighter jet (Hello Lockheed Star-fighter [1]), it would still encounter some export success: - Countries in NATO are informally required to buy US material politically speaking - Many countries are US Nuke and their territory and needs US jets to operate them. Belgium and Germany are in this situation with the B61 [2]. - Large military industrial companies have a long history of corruption in procurements processes. USA have some of the largest one world wide [1]: https://militarymachine.com/f-104-starfighter-flawed-midcentury-fighter/ https://militarymachine.com/f-104-starfighter-flawed-midcent... [2]: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/03/14/germany-to-buy-f-35-warplanes-for-nuclear-deterrence/ https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/03/14/germany... [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals