Technically, 2 left and 2 joined :).

On a more serious note, no it is not due to Trump. Leonardo was having trouble keeping a viable industrial partnership since pre-Trump, and Northrop Grumman cited value to their shareholders given the RFP, which was drafted, in its entirety by the acquisition shop at the USAF and approved by the Obama appointed acquisition czar.

Ok. I think Trump has to be careful not to bargain too much with the defense companies or that might have detrimental consequences. But I think he’s smart he knows how far he can go.

A dual role CUDA could be a good idea too to saturate radar defenses. 8 missiles onboard. Wishfull thinking at this point for sure.

Based on the intent and purpose of RF, it more likely that the simulated threat was more sophisticated that what the F-35 will face in the majority of potential combat theaters.

No Growlers at RF 17-1.

Yes there were Growlers at RF 17-1:

I have a very hard time believing an F-35 can get within JDAM range of a top notch russian radar without jamming support at least.

This exercise was conducted just before Trump took office. It may well be that it was set up to make the F-35 look better.

Overall still I think it did well overall though.

That is yet to be determined. Gilmore claimed it would be but he has so far been wrong on most of the date claims he has made.

It’s getting more and more sure that there will be a delay of 6 months or so.

The jet is capable of 4 AIM-120 now. SDB would be nice but not necessary, the JDAM is more than capable for missions the F-35 will conduct, such as SEAD conducted at Red Flag.

Block 3I is limited to 2 AMRAAMs. SDB would give 8 shots intead of 2 in stealth mode, very useful for SEAD and other penetration missions.

I think to be able to launch the AMRAAM from the a2g station they need a different adapter with an ejector. Not sure if they have started to work on that. But 4 AMRAAMs with an ability to maintain mach 1.2 with minimum afterburner would be a nice capability for the next 2 years if it’s possible. Mach 1.6/9Gs is not needed as much now, since the F-35 can dominate in BVR thanks to its stealth.

Given that block 3F is going to be delayed, I wonder if it wouldn’t make sense to try to do a release now with what’s available. 4 AMRAAMs and internal SDBs would be the most important if possible.

Actually PF stops at 40mm, for lesser caliber a different system is used: after target distance is determined using laser telemetrics rounds are automatically programmed to explode after a certain time while they pass through the barrel itself.
However the less the weapon caliber, the less its airburst efficacy: optimal with 35mm, still useful with “heavy” 30 mm, not convenient with lesser calibers.
Given that airplane guns have usually a very great rate of fire it’s still considered preferable to use conventional ammo for them, leaving them for land and, above all, sea based systems.

The GAU-22 is based on very old technology, I find it hard to believe they couldn’t have designed something radically better after 50+ years. If the ammunitions can be progammed to explode at a given distance, for the CAS mission the gun can have an air burst effect and 3-5 times less rounds are required. Basically the F-35 would have the firepower of an A-10 against dismounted infantry. I’m not sure that kind of ammo would be very effective against air targets though because they move very fast and they they can change directory abruptly. Maybe a proximity fuze would work better for that.

Even laser guided rounds could be possible. Even 50 cal rounds have been designed with laser guidance. Maybe a mix of LG and air burst rounds if a dual feed system can be built.

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/812061677160202240
Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!

Trump is a negociator, maybe he wants to have as much leverage as possible when dealing with LM. The fact that we don’t know exactly his intentions is precisely what he wants.