Spaz,
I think your graphic may have come from the
PR machine, SLD. Nothing wrong with that as long as we understand the caveats. But I don't think the representation of 600 hours of flight time is ready yet to demonstrate the required 8,000 hrs requirement without return to depot or manufacturer. A long way to go yet.
Scratches an damaged seals happen a lot on all airframes - these are the common, minor injuries that must be maintainable at first line. Larger impact injuries (say, hail stones, debris kicked up from the deck, cable breaks or even lesser battle damage) that get deeper into the structure MAY be a different matter and that's what I was interested in discussing. If such damage were to be repairable on board, in structural terms, my interest is whether those repairs would also be able to maintain the overall RCS.
As an aside, the business of repairing, for example, bird strike damage involves significantly different challenges for all composite structures, not just those belonging to the F-35. The need to maintain the LO qualities simply add an additional dimension.
Again, though, what is impressive is the aircraft's tollerance of minor damage and routine wear and tear. It certainly makes for a very tough surface.
Incidentally, it looks more like it's just missed the wire than about to engage it. But it's only one frame, I'll grant you.