> why are you assuming there's only going to be one f35 in the air?  it's a reduction to make my point about numbers and tactics. it doesn't matter how good an aircraft the f-35 may be, if it can only carry 4 aams, eventually the chinese just have the numbers to prevail. it's like the korean war and the chinese push across the yalu. americans may have been better trained, equipped, and superior on a 1:1 basis, but when china is throwing a wall of meat at you, you will retreat to pusan. even if it's just a bunch of j-7s, if you can't carry enough missiles to shoot all of them down, they will shoot you down.
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