Originally Posted by
etudiant
Think that your take is spot on.
If Boeing had not gutted their engineering competence, their X-32 contender for the F/A-X contract might have have prevailed, instead of the truly unimpressive Lockheed F-35.
Afaik, the X-32 was essentially a modern take on the Harrier concept.
True, the X-32 was essentially an updated version of the Harrier concept, but it was seriously out-performed by the X-35 - hence it was even less impressive than the X-35.