> Planes that first flew over 30 years ago. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Having a platform that has been iterated on and which works tends to be a plus

> Planes that first flew over 30 years ago. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Having a platform that has been iterated on and which works tends to be a plus when you want operational robustness. A good example of this is the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. There is also the fact that with Trump in power, the operational scenario that the F-35 was built for probably no longer exists. It is built to be part of a much larger system. There are legitimate fears that the US can interfere with even relatively limited operational scenarios for the F-35. Leading a lot of countries who have bought them to now question if they can trust their planes. It is also important to remember that planes like the Gripen have features that F-35 can never deliver on. Like low acquisition and operation cost, high degree of insulation from a politically unstable USA, ability to operate with minimal support structure etc. Also, don't forget that the F-35s in Europe aren't fully operational and that fully operational planes that are more advanced than those of the adversary are probably more than sufficient. The Ukraine war was a good demonstration of how weak the Russian air force is despite having impressive looking planes.