Wouldn't it have been easier to build say, two aircraft- rather than try to make ONE aircraft do everything?
One fighter, and one mud hen, say.
You could make the fighter a really nice, optimised air to air beastie- say, a bit like the F-22....
And you could make the mud mover into a really solid ground pounder, maybe like GR.4 or F/A-18...or maybe, GR.9 if you need VTOL.
I know getting one 'airframe' to do everything sounds like it ought to be cheaper, but is it?
And does anyone think the F-35 is going to better in one of its 'jack of all trades' roles, than any specialised aircraft that we could havebuilt with the same level of tech?
I don't think so.
Jack of all trades......Master of none.
Edit to add: if it's really all about having great SA due to fancy electronics, why not just stick those self same electronics into a proven airframe? F-35 electronics in a Buccaneer would likely make a great aircraft.