[mhh__]

> Embarrassingly the F-16 beat it in combat, for example.

What kind of combat?

If an F-35 actually makes it to a merge somethings gone wrong, and reports vary wildly https://www.businessinsider.com/f-35-vs-f-16-15-18-lost-beat...

Ultimately a lot of F-35 hysteria seems to derive from it being the first US aircraft developed entirely post-internet where news travels quickly - i.e. If your projects early tests and teething problems were being reported on publicly by everyone you'd probably look fairly bad too.

That's not to say the F-35 is flawless in any way, but these conversations usually end up in a reductive cycle of arguments we can't know the answer too without security clearance.