Thanks greatly for this, I've been keeping loose tabs on the JSF project over the years as haven't looked at it for a while; notably as Australia are part of the purchasing party and have been on the "it's coming...soon!" end of the stick. Makes me yearn for a return to the days of the SR-71, would've loved to have seen one up in the air in my lifetime.
It doesn't help that the F-35 is going to be the only fighter that Australia is going to be operating in any major capacity for the next couple of decades - considering how we held on to the F-111s for dear life until Parliament threw up their hands because they were getting too expensive to maintain. It seems that the F-35s are replacements for the F-111s which were designed specifically as long range bombers and served their role perfectly. The F/A-18 (I think this is Australia's primary air superiority figher at the moment) are ageing and keeping them airworthy is proving inefficient and costly. F-22s can't be purchased due to an export ban. It seems like it was a very expensive gamble from the beginning and by the looks of it, it might not pay off.
Unfortunately so. What absolutely staggers me beyond belief is this export ban to Allied nations; I understand countries like North Korea can't purchase F/A-18's - but the US and Australia, regardless of one's opinion, have alliances on multiple fronts. Why the heck can't we be allowed F/A18's in the shopping cart?