what F-35 is capable of
Shouldn't that be ... will be cabable of, hopefully.
Also let's remember what the F22 was capable of at the same period in it's development .. on paper, great. Now in service, when reallity kicks in, not a lot.
The SuperHornet is not a legacy platform, it's widely accepted to be a 4.5 generation aircraft and it's proven, it's available, oh and compared to the F35 it's cheap.