The F-35's capabilities are insufficient for US needs.

Well its not everyday you find somebody on here who knows the difference between an AMRAAM and a Sidewinder. Good job! But now let me educate you as to the real strategic purpose of the F-35 program, and how it actually guarantees US security needs against Russia, China, and the like for the next 50 years. The F-35 Lightning II - a Multi-Role Stealth Fighter built for Export. To begin, you got the first part of your description right. The F-35 is a fifth generation multi-role stealth fighter being built for the services by Lockheed-Martin. Knowing that much was pretty easy, but I almost completely fell out of my chair and started laughing a little when you started saying that the F-35 was being "promoted" as a more diverse, advanced, and inexpensive replacement to the F-22. That wording and repeated comparison to the F-22 Raptor is what got you killed -I'll explain in a minute-, and then you went on to largely dismiss the F-35's overall air-to-air capabilities over the next four paragraphs arguing obsessively that it couldn't turn, can't climb, couldn't shoot, can't roll, couldn't bank and couldn't run at all before finally concluding like an aerospace military genius that the multi-role F-35 would "never be" the smooth sleek top of the line air-to-air fighter that the US military needs and demands. Here the problem with that kind of reasoning and why so many F-22 fighter jocks keep messing up in their criticism of the F-22. The F-35 was never ever intended to be a replacement for the F-22. Period. The F-22 is an optimized Air Dominance Fighter while the F-35's is a multi-role stealth fighter with a ground support mission. The F-35 was thus never going to be as good or as flashy in air-to-air combat sorties as an F-22. It really should have been that simple. You're also forgetting that from the time of early conception, the F-35 was built with exporting it to other countries in mind. The strategic genius of exporting a 5th Generation Fighter Jet and a "watered down F-22" as some people still like to call it, and then mass producing it, does several important things: 1) It establishes a worldwide US monopoly on 5th generation fighter parts, designs, components, upgrades, and weaponry - Other countries attempts to develop their own 5th generation fighter programs (and anything that could be remotely better than an F-22) are now forced to compete with the US military-industrial complex. You can see then how this is a loosing battle for them and a long-term tactical advantage for US air superiority when we dictate what other airforces get and what they fly. 2) It helps pay for the program - So far 9 contributing F-35 partners have agreed to pay $4.38 billion towards development costs (http://tinyurl.com...). Economics of scale (mass production) also predict that by 2018 an F-35 will be as affordable as a legacy fighter (http://tinyurl.com...) 3) It strengthens allied nations and allied air forces - Regardless of the remarkably silly F-22 vs. F-35 comparisons, the F-35 is still a 5th generation fighter and the best air to air fighter platform in the world short of an F-22. When our allies fly the same advanced aircraft we do and share the same equipment we have, our joint forces enjoy much greater synergy and supportability across the full spectrum of military operations (including joint-operations). The relative strength of allied air forces by themselves are also significantly improved by adding fifth generation fighter jets. 4) Increases military spending pressure on Russia & China - Reagan proved that one of the best ways to curb a military buildup from a potential adversary was to procure and invest heavily in high-tech military equipment (think SDI). What do you think happens now to the stability of Russia and China when 10 countries (countries like NATO, Turkey, Korea, and Japan that encircle both Russia & China) are all sporting 5th generation fighters??? I mean this is so full of strategic pwnage its not even funny. The F-35 & F-22 programs are easily the largest defense programs in US history, combining at over a $1 trillion dollars and accumulating to over three decades of accumulated research and aerospace development. Anybody who is even remotely familiar with the material and computer complexity of 5th generation fighters will tell you too that these things are ridiculously difficult to design, hard to build, and just as ridiculous to afford. Seriously, after $66 billion we still can't even get the oxygen tank right on an F-22 for crying out loud. Everything from the radar, to the software, to the datalink, to the electronic warfare suite & sensors, to the turbofan engines themselves comes with such an enormous price tag and so much engineering complexity that the average military buyer has no choice but to just drop their jaw and say, holy ****! So if Russia & China really want to try competing with the US in the advance fighter market, I say let them! By time they've blown all that capital away on their first 5th generation fighters its likely that we'll already have developed a newer 6th generation fighter. 5) Adds to the US economy - last but not least, foreign sales of the F-35 (along with foreign sales from theUSarms industry in general) adds to the US economy by creating thousands of jobs and ranking in billions of foreign capital. In the years ahead, the F-35 program alone will have supported 129,000 Americans in 45 different states (http://tinyurl.com...). Its smart for us then to keep these global partnerships alive so we can keep our place as the #1 arms dealer in the world. The rest of this now is just simple fact checking: The F-35 lacks capabilities necessary to accurately call it a "5th generation" fighter. The F-35 is a 5th generation fighter. (http://tinyurl.com...). You should stop focusing on just maneuverability. how can it be considered worth of greater expense than a reliable 5th generation such as the F-22 In addition to the strategic value of exporting the F-35 to other countries, the F-35 is slated to replace the aging fighter fleets across three branches of the military. Its worth noting that these older planes average over 30 years old and a one-mission plane like the F-22 is not going to cut it.The F-35's air to air capabilities are incomplete at best. The F-35's air to air capabilities are fine. The F-35 carries the next-gen Aim-9x Sidewinder and the lastest AMRAAM air missiles; the former when combined with HMDS cueing is capable of firing on aircraft trailing BEHIND the plane. Meanwhile, its electronic warfare suite and stealth coating gives it the technological edge -that 99% of enemy planes don't have- when it comes to defeating detection and jamming enemy radar. The F-35 has failed to reach necessary levels of capabilityRight. Did you know that the F-35 is most likely stealthier than an F-22 when it comes to radar cross section? (http://tinyurl.com...) The F-35 is slated to replace the F-15 Is completely false. Read your source again.The F-35's stand-alone strike capability is lacking. Your forgot that for the majority of its strike-missions that the F-35 will not need a fighter escort. It also has its own electronic warfare suite and doesn't need to depend on electronic attack aircraft (like the EA-18) for SEAD. This added tactical flexibility and independency means that the F-35 is perfectly suited for stand-alone strike missions. The F-35 is far from being at its full potential And the F-22 lacks a HMD, 3D thrust vectoring, carrying configuration for the latest Aim-9x and AMRAAM missiles, an IRST cueing port, an optimized A/G capability, an optimized electronic warfare suite, and a tactical data link system that can be accessed by other AF planes that aren't just F-22s. The F-22 also lacks a clear mission seeing as how the last time we needed a fighter ace was in Vietnam (http://tinyurl.com...). So who now has more potential to make up?