JSFfan,
Pleased to see you have dropped the comparison from the front of your benchmarking remark. You should have been a politician; just quote the lines from documents that suit your case. Whilst a bit old now, your link to the Parliamentary Joint Committee from last March was an interesting read - it took a while to get down to the F-35 bit. I thought Osley's rebuttal of the Airpower Australia and RepSim findings was well handled.
To maintain some balance here, it's only right to point out what Osley's words were that you omitted from your quote, otherwise you may give the impression that, as Program Manager New Aircraft Capability, Osley's analysis of the platform is all glowing. For example, perhaps better to quote the entire paragraph (including the bit you represented by "..."):
I will take the detailed questions there on the sensors on notice. What I would like to say is that the simulation that has been done was actually done using highly trained fighter pilots, acting as Red Air, using to the best of their knowledge, the best capability they could to defeat the F35. The point I would like to make here is that if you use the F35 and play to its strengths, not its weaknesses, you can prevail in air combat. Winning in air combat late in this decade and into the 2020s is not going to be easy. I am not saying that the F35 will answer all our prayers. If you use the F35 incorrectly and do not play to its strengths, you will probably lose. But the same could be said for the F18 and the F16. If we play to the F35's strengths, and it has a lot of strengths of stealth, good sensors and exceptional situation awareness. For instance, the situational awareness is linked to the capacity of the software. It has roughly three times the software of the F22. That gives you an indication of its capability. It has a datalink capability that is exceptional for talking to not only other F35s but the rest of the system out there. If you have the right weapons on board, and they will need to be upgraded, if you have good training, good tactics and good supporting capabilities, the F35 will prevail.
The difference may seem small if you choose to read it that way, but it is important with any program to maintain the intended meaning of people's words when using them to support your case.