Just my $.02 on this subject.
Gaetz seems to get dumb on occasion and he’s dumb on this one. The F-35 is an amazingly capable aircraft. Although I have been out of the contracting business for nearly 10 years, I did have the privilege of directing the creation of F-135A, B, and C transition training for both pilots and maintainers. Part of the problem in mission capability is the fact that Congress and the Services expected these three variants to be largely interchangeable regarding parts and avionics. They are not. As development and testing proceeded it became obvious (as it should have been from the beginning) that even though these aircraft shared many mission capabilities, each was a very different aircraft. As I’ve been out of the business for a long time, In my opinion only, the mission readiness issues stem from there actually being a multitude different parts that may perform a unique function on each of the three variants. That coupled with the fact that the aircraft was sold internationally and that the international versions all required different parts and mission requirements only add to the problem. We had some of the same problems with the F-14 and F/A-18 series aircraft but the F-35 problems are compounded but the numerous variants.
Irrespective of these issues, aggressor pilots usually lose during air-to-engagements, and the F-35 is a massive step up in air-to-ground employment with superb target recognition and stand-off capabilities. The bad guys on the ground will be dead before they see any evidence that the F-35 is anywhere in the area. Again, just my $.02.
Oops I meant *F-35A, B, and C* (F-135 is the engine designation. My apologies)