According to one AF general, the purpose of the F-35 is "to spend money". So in that aspect it is performing admirably :)
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning...
I think for political reasons they don’t have access to Russian or European aircraft and they probably don’t want Chinese ones. This is the first new fighter we have available to them.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/f-35-has-freaked-out-iran-an...