It’s hilarious that in the estimation of doofy-ass clowns that the F-35 has now “failed” because Iran scored a hit on one of them — a hit that I must point out, did not even succeed in shooting down the jet in question.

Part of the issue is due to bad marketing that you must do to get Congress to pay for anything. The F-35 was advertised to the Congress-critters as “invisible.” Nothing in the physical world is invisible. For several different reasons, this is absolutely impossible. But Congress wouldn’t vote for a plane with something as pedestrian-sounding as “radar camouflage,” which is a far more accurate description. So “invisible” it was, and funding resulted.

The F-35 is itself and makes use of amazing technology. It shredded through very advanced Chinese and Russian air defense systems like they weren’t even there. But it is neither invisible nor invincible. It is an object in the physical world. It emits massive amounts of heat. It is large. It is noisy. It can be brought down by a single bullet hitting the right place.

I’m surprised more weren’t taken out in the initial wave when Iran had the most air defense resources, truly, but I am glad they were not.

Tell you what, though. If your vaunted air defense systems can only score a single hit out of hundreds of sorties, that is not a great record. The F-35, however, is a great plane for what it is intended to do.