Any evidence for your claim 'LO'? In the same way the Hornet Family flies the ball without 'Magic Carpet' or IDLC - the F-35C could do the same - yet without the obvious pinpoint accuracy of today perhaps. Auto throttle was standard in the early F-35C with whatever else available at the time. Sheesh. Meatball / Line Up and Airspeed (Opt AoA) is always the basic method - then throw in whatever 'magic' is available in any particular aircraft at the time. Simple. The article quoted below is no longer at old URL but is likely somewhere out there along with the X-35C graphic in the PDF mentioned at second URL.
Naval joint strike fighter: A glimpse into the future of naval aviation
Steve Weatherspoon 2002
"...The larger wing enables an approach speed of less than 140 knots with nearly 9,000 lbs of bringback. Just as importantly, the addition of ailerons, larger horizontal tails and rudders, and an innovative integrated direct lift control (IDLC) assure precise ball flying. The designers recognized early on that a relatively slick (due to stealth) configuration combined with a powerful, high rotational mass engine, could cause glide slope control problems. By integrating direct lift control (using drooped ailerons) with the throttle, the pilot is able to make near instantaneous glide slope corrections, using throttle only to precisely fly the ball. Full autothrottle & Mode I capabilities are also available. Outstanding results were demonstrated in 250 field carrier landing practice (FCLP) landings with contractor and Navy pilots in the X-35C Navy JSF test aircraft in the winter of 2001....”
X-35C Handling Qualities
“IDLC Performance was Excellent.”(Throttle Modes)
“Crosswind Landing was Easily Controlled.”
“Airplane is Solid Through The Pattern. AOA Control is Solid. Good Control of Glideslope.”(Manual FCLPs)
“Use of APC Reduced Workload Significantly Throughout the Pattern.”
http://sstc-online.org/proceedings/2...racs/p1417.pdf (2002)
F-35C IDLC started to be mentioned from 2012 in media stories and videos.