Salute!
Excuse me, ETUDIANT. The comparison with the WW2 era P-40 is ludicrous.
Up to me, I wouldn't let the F-35 be sold to anybody except very close allies that have shed blood with us for a common cause.
Even at the dawn of WW2, the P-40 was not a cornerstone of export aircraft as far as the U.S. was concerned. Seems to me that the P-39 for the Russians was a biggie, as was the original Mustangs.
As far as integration with U.S. industry, I saw this first hand with the F-16 group that suggested cockpit and weapon control software/hardware mods. USAF hosted a working group that submitted suggestions to USAF and DoD. The original cast of characters had a "vote", but the IAF reps suggested things but had no vote. They negotiated directly with GD.
The F-35 is a different breed of cat. There's the obvious LO aspect of the beast, but then there's the cosmic avionics and integration of all the sensors and such. I am not willing to place all that on the market for anyone to buy and then employ against my country and it allies. Period.
Gums sends...