i'd echo LO's concerns about forward basing and Dave B being the heir to Harrier - nothing whatsoever about any part of the F-35 programme says you'll be able to run this aircraft from a field with a portakabin and a bag of spanners.
my fear is that we'll buy an aircraft that doesn't need the things you can find anywhere or can build easily (great big strips of concrete or pierced steel matting), but does need the things that are like rocking horse **** in these 'austere' locations, namely a surgically clean, sealed environment with enough IT to cater for the porn usage of the entire British Army.
seems a bit 'arse about face' to me...