The only thing this boondoogle has accomplished is that it has somewhat masked the arrival of it's successor technology. Drones and UAVs will out perform, out last and have beat the F35 to operational status. One reason we are still pushing manned fighters is that pilots run the air corps, pilots like to fly and pilots like to be heroes. Imaging yourself sitting in a bar in Omaha talking to a pimple faced computer geek kid in a uniform telling you about the hairiest missions he "flew" from his console.
Same thing in space exploration. Manned space missions get all the attention and most of the money. But's it's the satellites , probes and rovers doing all the work.
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