If they did they’d be hard down for something. F-35s are a POS.
Sir - You are correct
Are they really? How do you know? They haven’t been tested very well yet. It’s WAY too early to declare it yet. Many tweaks will likely follow the first combat uses.
All through American history people have declared our weapons to be “POS” at first... New technologies many times start out “flawed.” Only later does it become clear one way or the other. Many of our new weapons were often criticized in WWII and Vietnam only to prove their worth in combat later. Many people decried the B2 Spirit bomber as a “boondoggle.” Now it’s regarded as a major piece of American military power.
There is also a tactical advantage in saying your weapons are crappy when really they work exceedingly well. The f35’s may work very well even better than anything else that’s out there but as they may be having trouble reaching their theoretical capabilities, I suppose one may say they are crappy. Their new stealthy design for example may be giving them an edge even if they don’t dare try to push them in terms of speed or maneuverability just yet or if they are still trying to tweak the computer packages in them.