MSOCS Here's some context for you C2:
McCain isn't a fan of F-35 for a number of reasons, mostly political.
His State is Arizona.
Arizona (Davis-Monthan) has a huge A-10 community and trains A-10 pilots.
Congressmen need votes and need to represent their communities.
A-10 pilots, like Vermont ANG F-16 pilots, don't want to lose their jet.
You join the dots..... .
Hmmm, while he may be a fan of the A-10 it is worth noting that Arizona, the state Senator McCain represents, has TWO major F-35 bases, Luke and Yuma. Luke will be a major US/International F-35 training site with 144 jets slated and Yuma will have 5 squadrons and be the main US Marine F-35B base, so surely Arizona is a major winner in the F-35 pork prize. Even Davis-Monthan is in the running to be a major reserve F-35 base. McCain does have a track record of questioning massive military over runs, and perhaps his very recent testimony of calling the F-35 a "tragedy with respect to cost, schedule and performance..." may also be part of it. The issues of cost, schedule and performance seem to be commonly brought up on this forum quite a bit- so it may not be "mostly political".....
Link to his testimony:
John McCain: F-35 is 'a scandal and a tragedy' - CNNPolitics.com