Regarding Pierre sprey's claims about BVR and F-35 - F-35 Armament, Stores and Tactics
This link discusses Sprey's history, agendas and personality. Seems like he also hated the F-15 and aspects of his own design in the F-16, especially with radar. Whether the opinions here are totally accurate or not, he doesn't seem to have the credence or kudos he purports to have. By the way, the F-15 still enjoys a 100-0 kill/loss ratio and most would consider the F-16 the most effective lightweight fighter ever produced.