Mr Boffin
Very true. There really is not a good way out but the Option A - damn the torpedoes and proceed with the program of record - is beginning to look like an economic impossibility, even if everything else is sacrificed to it.
The basic tenets of the AF/Navy requirement were probably close to achievable, but combining stealth with classic fighter performance is challenging. Unfortunately, adding STOVL + fighter performance (which in itself wasn't easy) to the mix made it next to impossible.
Then they threw in cost "estimates" that were not really estimates at all, but were derived from budget projections and force structure targets and the desire to close down everyone else's fighter programs, and the project was doomed before the JIRD/JORD thing started.
What now? Clearly there is no appetite for starting a new program based on JORD with less silly costs and no STOVL.
One starting point may be to say - We do need stealth in larger numbers than NGB (and on carriers) so how do we do it? Do we go for a subsonic tactical aircraft with better stealth (to knock the defenses down and keep them down) and extend the useful life of current and evolved designs?