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It's basically paid for itself in total foreign sales and its not even in the top 3 for most expensive current generation fighters. The F-35 is a fucking triumph.

bruh what the fuck are you talking about

latest batch f35s are cheaper than most 4th and 4.5th generation fighters

It was a “peace dividend” project, back from before China posed a credible threat and Russia looked like they were gonna actually try not being complete geopolitical psychos for a bit. All things considered, I think it’s matured into a remarkably capable weapon system given what it started as. Not to mention: despite its… somewhat lacking aerodynamics and kinematics, the connectivity (datalink), distributed systems, and sensor fusion that have become some of its core characteristics are genuinely game-changing.

I fully agree that it has some glaring flaws… but it’s also currently the 5th gen volume-production stealth fighter to beat, and nobody’s come close yet (yes, I’m including China’s J-20 and J-31; and no, as far as anyone outside of China has been able to determine, they are not as capable or stealthy as the F-35, and nowhere near the F-22 for stealth or air superiority).