It would appear the F-35 doesn't suck as bad as a lot of people claim

As in, maybe not even close. In fact, the F-35 is looking pretty good to a lot of people. The Marines would like to get the F-35 faster than planned:

PARIS — The Marine Corps, which plans to purchase hundreds of F-35 joint strike fighters, wants them to be delivered quicker, the service's deputy commandant for aviation said June 20 at the Paris Air Show.
“We could use airplanes faster,” said Lt. Gen. Jon M. Davis, who will be retiring in a few weeks. “We’re flying some of the oldest tactical aircraft — the strike fighters — in the naval inventory.”

On top of that, a whole bunch of U.S. allies want to buy the plane, as well:

Canada is poised to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp, sources familiar with the process told Reuters, which would make it the 11th country to join the program.
The United States and its allies plan to buy more than 3,100 F-35s in coming years to replace aging F-16s, F/A-18s and other warplanes.

So, 11 countries want to buy 3,100 F-35s knowing that it sucks? Hey, maybe it doesn't suck. In fact, at the recent Paris air show, the F-35 pretty much proved that it doesn't suck. Check it out:



Holy fuck. That plane can fly.