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Actually there is, the need for stealth limits the number of armaments that it can carry in a stealth configuration for one, of course not that the requirements for commonality across all 3 service helps in that regard . And I am not making stealth a black and white case of success/failure here. I am questioning the wisdom of wanting a stealth aircraft regardless of the cost involved, and that stealth does not solve all problems. A lower radar signature can hardly be justified if the plane has correspondingly lower range, payload and maneuverability.@Viktor,
The F-35's main issues, at least according to professional opinion, is that the airframe is being forced to adopt the prospect of being built into three different variants (but with one single common central airframe piece). There hasn't been any indication that attempts to make it stealthy has been detracting from the quality or capabilities of the fighter. And you make it seem as if stealth "failing/succeeding" is a black-and-white thing; even if the VLO aspect is compromised to some extent, the aircraft will still likely have a lower signature than conventional legacy airframes - in any case this is hardly a reason to forgo stealth design.