The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has been widely debated over since its first flight in 2006. By 2017, delays and cost overruns had pushed the F-35 program’s expected acquisition costs to $406.5 billion, with a total lifetime till 2070 cost of $1.5 trillion in then-year dollars which includes operations and maintenance.The fighter has faced many criticisms like not being maneuverable as Russian fighters such as Su-35 and its top speed being limited to Mach 1.6 which is far slower than contemporary fighters like Eurofighter Typhoon.Another key drawback being pointed out by many is F-35 can carry only four AIM-120s internally and the limited magazine depth of this modern fighter has become a concern. It is to be noted that AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) variants like AIM-120D is at the forefront of American BVR or Beyond Visual Range offensive calculus.But this is about to change with the ‘Sidekick’ adaptor.In this video Defense Updates analyzes how F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would be more lethal in Air to Air combat ?#defenseupdates #f35lightning #southchinasea