True, but I don't know how stealthy it will be in practice while loaded up with external weapons and fuel tanks, not to mention the large profile fuselage that

True, but I don't know how stealthy it will be in practice while loaded up with external weapons and fuel tanks, not to mention the large profile fuselage that is has to accomodate the V/STOL capability. If it's radar evading abilities aren't that great with a combat loadout I have to wonder if the expense of designing the F-35 to be low observable will be worth it. Because, as you said, if AA missiles are becoming so advanced that dogfighting really is dead, having a quasi-stealth aircraft may not be the advantage that it was originally billed to be. Crazily enough, the program is having problems with heat melting off the stealth coatings, which is why the current fleet is not cleared for supersonic flight. My understanding is also that the sensor package is behind schedule. I think if the idea was a stealthy strike fighter for just the Air Force or just the Navy,we might have a pretty nice jet at this point, but the one plane to do everything approach just keeps bearing bad news.