It's perfectly reasonable to say that in the future, human pilots won't be dogfighting, that's the job of missiles and drones, the human's job is to exercise tactical control close enough to not need satellite links.
But in that case, if the F-35's real job is to serve as a sort of fast, stealthy Awacs, then surely it shouldn't incur all the compromises inherent in building a plane that looks like it was supposed to replace the F-16?
But in that case, if the F-35's real job is to serve as a sort of fast, stealthy Awacs, then surely it shouldn't incur all the compromises inherent in building a plane that looks like it was supposed to replace the F-16?