At some point you'd think they would just seize the data rights to the F-35 and be done with it. They seem to have very little ability to force Lockheed to change their ways.
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter News, Videos and pics Thread
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That would make too much sense, and has too much socialism/communism/big-gov (insert spooky ism here) energy for US to do it.
I mean the f35 contract was SPECIFICALLY written this way so whoever gets it makes hella money from it, this is why they lobbied for this to happen, it will keep company afloat and shareholders happy for decades.
They wanted to do the 'mcdonalds icecream machines' scam but f35s
Meanwhile
So it is safe to say J-20/35 production will far exceed F-35 for the past years and for many years in the future.
The state power is built by various business interest groups including LM, the government including the military is just the servent of those companies. So it is not that "they" can or want to force or control LM, it is the other way around that LM owns "they". One may argue that LM alone doesn't own the whole congress, true, but if any opposition punished LM for failing the contract, their own financier will get punished some other days. So the untold rule is "we are all good, just let the taxpayers foot the bill".
I believe overall production of the F-35 is expected to stay at around ~150 per year, at least for the next little while. J-20 and J-35 combined should exceed that (based on what has been speculated).
Remember that the F-35 has a huge backlog of international orders, so even if US reduces some orders, they could shift production to meet international demand. On top of that, the US reduction in demand is likely to be to temporary at best.
Reverse-Engineering the F-35: Why Copying Fails
Modern defense folklore loves the “found a wreck, built a copy” story. However, the punishes that fantasy. Even a largely intact airframe would not hand you a working fifth-generation fighter. It would hand you a long, expensive lesson in manufacturing science, secure software, and industrial discipline.
If a state ever tried to reverse-engineer the F-35, it would face a problem set that grows more complex the deeper you look. The aircraft is not one secret. It is thousands of small, interacting advantages—many of them process-driven, not shape-driven.
Crash Wreckage Isn’t a Blueprint
A damaged aircraft tells you what exists, not how to reproduce it. In practice, “how” is the real weapon: material batches, curing cycles, tolerances, adhesives, edge treatments, thermal pathways, and inspection standards. Moreover, the F-35 program continues to evolve, so a recovered jet may represent an older baseline while the operator moves on.Read more about...
This is why US doesn't let its allies and partners even approach it's actual servicing, yeah.
Btw, on old question:
imagine you're a devoted ally and partner, who bought your entire air force to bomb some countries far away together with F-35 manufacturer.
And now that nation decided that since you're so 100% aligned, why keep your management over most of your territory - it's an unnecessary layer of management.
Question 1: will F-35 work when you need them? Purely hypothetical, asking for a friend.
Question 2: to which degree you should ire that manufacturer as a 3rd nation and help out that nation no.1, if it's everything you've got really.
Suddenly old nonsensical hypothetical questions where people snobbishly could just deny their way out turned rather practical.
And answer matters.
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Now replace F-35 with Trident D5 and you see the UK's dialemma.