Still, the Army purchased a few aircraft from Boeing as test planes, and some insiders remained convinced that the aircraft was flyable.

NEWYORKER: The Checklist

We flew a simulated mission within a grounded duplicate of the flyable F-35 cockpit, and the capabilities and improvements are quite clear -- you definitely don't want to encounter an F-35 from a previous-generation aircraft.

ENGADGET: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter cockpit demonstrator hands-on (video)