F-35 Cleared for Full-Rate Production 17 Years After Its First Flight

Aircraft Aesthetics & Legacy Fighters

• Several comments praise the F-35’s looks but many still see older jets (F-16, F-14, F-15, Su-27, MiG-29, YF-23) as the “peak” of fighter aesthetics.
• Some argue combat record and reliability make aircraft appear more impressive over time, not just design.

Program Duration, Cost, and Process

• The 17-year span from first flight to full-rate production is widely criticized as “shameful.”
• Comparisons to the SR-71’s rapid deployment are contested: SR-71 was niche and small-run; F‑35 is multi-role, mass-produced, and export-oriented.
• Unit costs are contrasted with F-16s; others emphasize the much higher total program cost and see it as a jobs and elections program or “cash cow” for contractors.
• Process criticism includes late software fixes, adding developers in shifts, and calls to improve aircraft development pipelines generally.

Stealth, Block 4, and Survivability

• Full-rate production is noted as not yet for the Block 4 configuration, which some officials reportedly see as the minimum for survivability in high-threat environments.
• Debate over stealth: some see it as essential for penetrating dense air defenses; others doubt its cost-effectiveness against peer powers with modern sensors and automation.
• Historical stealth combat (F‑117) is invoked to show low observability alone is insufficient.

Drones, Swarms, and Countermeasures

• Many argue manned stealth fighters are becoming obsolete versus massive autonomous drone swarms, potentially guided via Starlink-like constellations or even rocket-delivered globally.
• Others highlight practical limits: jamming and spoofing, satellite vulnerability, weather, battery tech, datalink range, GPS denial, and magazine limits for defenses.
• There’s extensive back-and-forth on whether cheap drones or traditional SAMs, cruise missiles, and CIWS are more cost-effective for offense/defense.
• Some see future fighters as “motherships” controlling drone swarms; others think contractors resist cheap drones because they threaten existing high-margin programs.

Geopolitics and China

• Some stress that US advantage is global basing and carrier presence; others counter that China doesn’t need global reach to contest its region and is rapidly modernizing.
• Belt & Road is discussed as a path to future overseas access, though its economic and political results are mixed.
• Concern is voiced that US underestimates China, echoing historical hubris.

Overall Views on the F-35

• Enthusiasts see it as necessary for sensors, stealth, range, and as a geopolitical tool with strong export demand; some think history will judge it a success.
• Skeptics view it as overhyped, late, potentially marginal in peer conflict, and emblematic of inefficient defense procurement. Conflicting claims about combat losses and relevance remain unresolved and are largely anecdotal in the thread.