[coloradan]

My understanding of these planes is that they consistently win dogfights when outnumbered 9-1 by F-15s or F-16s.

[DesScorp]

"My understanding of these planes is that they consistently win dogfights when outnumbered 9-1 by F-15s or F-16s."

Where are you getting this? One of the big knocks against the F-35 is that it's turning out to be a piss-poor fighter. The Australians are evaluating it for purchase, and in their simulations against Su-27 derivatives, it was, and I quote, "clubbed like a baby seal".

Pierre Spey, the chief designer of the F-16 and A-10, says that the F-35 is shaping up to be an absolutely lousy fighter... poor wing loading, poor vertical acceleration, inferior cockpit visibility compared to the teen-series of fighters, among other things.