Snafu - No, that's an important point.
For stealth to be completely decisive in an air-to-air engagement, the stealth aircraft has to have the first sight and the first kill, preferably concluding the engagement before the target has even fired.
If one looks at the Su-35S or any other modern conventional fighter versus the F-35/AMRAAM combo, the F-35 may get first sight. However, missile warning will declare the first shot at which point the conventional fighter will evade. What this does is reduce the effective range of AMRAAM, so although the F-35 may see the adversary, its pilot want to get closer before firing.
The $390 billion question is whether "closer" in the above means that detection (by radar, IRST, ESM or the nifty white wingtip vortex trails that the F-35 leaves behind it like snail tracks) is mutual before anyone gets a shot off. If so, then stealth is a diminishing factor.
Last edited by LowObservable; 28th Jun 2012 at 19:48.