Comment by mpyne
F-35 functions fine, lots of its problems relate to things like its logistical tail and associated IT system pain points that you'd have to solve with a different plane than F-35 either way, but I can't argue against the fact that a lot of countries are having to wake up to the reality of meeting their defense needs in much different ways than you'd have thought in 2015.
AFAIK, it's really unclear if the extravagantly high maintenance is a weakness that compensates for the capabilities the maintenance-heavy tech supplies.
It's only known to function fine when your supply chains are not under attack.