The Aim120 missiles range safety systems don't work in the F35 because there is SO much vibration in there, that the missiles fail safe out and don't work. The bays also get too hot - if any ord is carried, for them not to be damaged right now, under 25,000 feet the bomb bay doors must be opened to cool off the ord every...TEN MINUTES. WTF?!?
Then to top things off, the radar right now has a mean time between failure rate of...four hours. So, basically every flight the radar fails and goes tits up. Oh, but Lockheed/Martin said the good news is sometimes if you reset it it'll start working again, but usually only when the fighter is on the ground...
I'm sure there are good and bad things about the ones actually flying in service, I HAVE read things like what the Norwegian pilot has written, but I've read just as many if not more bad. In fact, I've NEVER heard of orders being given from on high that pilots MUST speak well of a new plane, and that any open negatives or criticisms will be met with punishment. Remember when the F22 was at the stage the F35 is now, being deployed and combat coded to active squadrons? EVERY SINGLE pilot that flew it raved about it, and even with the naggling little issues that still cropped up, EVERYONE knew it was the best in the world, a real killer, with superlative performance in nearly every metric. Where is that similar praise and environment with the F35? Despite any defensive things that can be said, THAT just isn't there, and it should be, with such an expensive and incredibly LONG development process. Hell, it's been longer than the F22 took to get online, and the F35 still wouldn't be able to go into combat now. No way it could, any of the 3 models.
Despite any possible future potential that the F35 may work out, it's a: taking too long, and b: costing WAY too much for the performance and capability that MIGHT be there if it all works out. IMO it should be cut, skip this Gen 5 and go straight to the new Northrup designed Gen 6 fighter, and build more advanced variants of current proven platforms until that Gen 6 fighter is ready. A few dozen squadrons of F15 SE, advanced Super Hornets, the F16 block 60s that some Arab countries have bought if need be- focus on those new IRST pods for the AF and Navy, and getting that new Aim120 online. If war comes with China in the South Pac, the above things will pay off FAR more than the F35 will, which has been slaughtered in every wargame that every company and defense department have run in that theater of ops.
