If we're into thread drift ..
One of the early comments on this thread mentioned using a 'show of force' to persuade people not to do anything silly.. It wasn't an attack or close support aircraft but I distinctly remember seeing the camera footage when the Buccs went in over Beirut (84?) and were flying around the various masts and aerials in the city. IIRC, the message being sent was 'received and understood'.
Back to the F-35 though, or any other aircraft you care to name .. you can surely have all the countermeasures you like onboard but they count for nothing when in the sights of someone armed with nothing more than a manually aimed and fired rifle or machine gun. In the Falklands, didn't a Para bring down an A-4 with a GMPG? Even if he admitted he was aiming for the first one but ended up bringing down the no.2. And even if it was a four ship, rather than two, that's a 25% attrition rate .. which isn't great when you've only a handful of aircraft to start with.