Ex military aviator, 40 years in aviation, interested in a new aircraft.
A Van, thank you for your considered reply, that was all I was asking for in the first place, not the drivel that I actually received...
The drivel being a question you posed, rooted in outdated strategy, and, a network V’s a single piece of equipment, hardly apples to apples, or a sensible comparison/question. As the General said, a bit 20th Century.
...but, given how late into service it is, will it still provide that edge over updated and in development systems? Will the updating of the onboard sensors/avionics be enough to counter the ever evolving IADS threat, or will the basic airframe and LO technologies built into it be the ultimate limiting factor?
You seem to regard the F-35 as a static weapons system rather than a constantly evolving one...and as an aircraft, rather that the multi-purpouse, mutl-service, multi national integrative weapon system it is.
All Integrated Air Defence Systems are constantly being improved, as is the F-35... which is not just a LO airframe with some sensors. As IADS’s are a network so too are the capabilities, tactics, and evolving sophistication of air offence of which the F-35 is but one part. The F-35 can no longer be considered as a single system in isolation which is precisely what your ‘question’ supposes, but a force multiplying constantly developing platform that is part of a of combined offensive/defensive grouping with new capabilities being discovered every day.