Snafu,
Perhaps I can help a little - I can confirm that I'm not an employee of LM, nor am I paid to post here ( I understand the term is 'a shill').
To be clear, I was employed by BAE and worked on the F-35 programme for a few years - I don't think I've ever tried to hide that. I left BAE about 10 years ago, and they don't pay me to post either.
Hope this helps
Best wishes as ever to those of any opinion,
Engines