Not wishing to play duelling hyperlinks, but there is great
non-sequitur in the 2 links provided by ORAC that shed some light on why software and systems remain problematical in Defense Procurement.
The F-35 Marketing blurb says...
Lockheed Martin also requires all software code to be written in the C++ programming language, which is the most common code in use today and enables faster code development, Branyan says.
While the F-22 Marketing blurb says...
90% of the software is written in Ada, the Department of Defense's common computer language. Exceptions to the Ada requirement are granted only for special processing or maintenance requirements.
Now both of these statements are true, but it perfectly illustrates how information needs to be read in context before a reasoned analysis can be made - just because it's on the interwebs doesn't make it true.
But back to middleware - the concept of putting a software "wrapper" around more complex or ageing applications is not new and has found some effective uses. But it doesn't make the problem go away, it simply migratges and transforms it. All the middleware in the world will not improve the throughput or thermal stress of some gasping wheezy system that is being asked to do more and more at every upgrade. Eventually the piece inside the "wrapper" will need to be replaced. As Milo remarked, Moore's Law applies no matter how decoupled or federated you think your design is.
I'm not actually arguing that the F-35 is anything than a major technological leap forward, I'm just saying that you can't reinvent the Laws of Physics through design. And you certainly can't do it through the gift of some very expensive and clever marketing material and some LM lobbyist provided soundbites.