> The F-35 has a lot of problems, but it's already made its way through most of that loooong process. Scratching it and going back to the drawing board would re

> The F-35 has a lot of problems, but it's already made its way through most of that loooong process. Scratching it and going back to the drawing board would reset that clock, which means that even if 1) they started on the new design tomorrow and 2) it turned out much better than the F-35, it wouldn't start reaching squadrons until 2035 or even later. Which leaves a big, multi-decade gap where the various services have to keep their aging fighters flying until the New Thing shows up to replace them. The reason this program has taken so long is because its goal is to build an advanced, cutting-edge fighter that eclipses any of the other 4th gen aircraft in the world while simultaneously meeting strongly conflicting requirements. If instead the military developed 2 variants (carrier-borne and land-based), scrapped the STOVL requirement, and perhaps scrapped the low-observable requirement, they could end up with a far cheaper, far better performing aircraft in far less time. For example, the F/A-18 only took about 10 years to go from development to production. It would still leave a gap of about 10 years but that's better than spending the most money in military history and being stuck with a turkey for 3 or 4 decades.