So stealthy until you use reheat that blisters the stealth coating..
However, the documents obtained by Defense News reported that heat from afterburner exhaust caused an F-35B to experience "bubbling and blistering" of its radar-absorbent materials (RAM) and of its horizontal tail surfaces and boom. Heat damage also "compromised the structural integrity" of the horizontal tail and boom of an F-35C. Sensitive sensors buried inside the skin of the rear tail surfaces could also have proven susceptible to damage.
Since the incident, the Marines have instituted a policy requiring F-35B pilots not to engage afterburners for more than eighty seconds cumulatively at Mach 1.3, or forty seconds at Mach 1.4. Navy F-35C pilots have fifty seconds at Mach 1.3 to ration.To "reset" the afterburner allowance, they must then allow three minutes non-afterburning flight for the tail area to cool down to avert damage.Though looser restrictions on safe afterburner usage exist for other jets, the document apparently acknowledges the restrictions imposed on the F-35B and C are "not practical/observable in operationally relevant scenarios."
After all, a pilot in a combat situation would likely struggle to count exactly how many seconds the afterburners have been cumulatively engaged while attempting to manage the many other tasks demanding his or her attention.An F-35 pilot might still choose to exceed afterburner limits during an urgent combat scenario, accepting the risk that the plane might sustain "degradation of [stealth], damage to antennas, and/or significant horizontal tail damage." However, this could then result in the jet being removed from operations while it awaits depot-level maintenance, which could be especially problematic for carrier-based squadrons.
https://taskandpurpose.com/f35-after...h-tech-problem