You have a good point in that it was supposed to replace all kinds of aircraft. That was kind of its thing.

“ intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft …”

One aircraft for the navy, marines and air force would save money was the thinking I imagine.

I remember the competition for the design many year ago (there was a Nova tv program) but haven’t been following too closely but it’s had issues filling all the roles.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Strike_Fighter_program

It's a little too late for that. The JSF program probably should have been cancelled or completely restructured circa 1996. But now there's no remaining alternative. The inventory of legacy AV-8, F-16, and A-10 aircraft are going to be retired no matter what because they're literally falling apart and it's impossible to keep extending their service lives.

It's extremely practical and a good aircraft. Not to mention cheap, now that the development costs are paid for.

There is no aircraft in history that did not have hiccups during procurement. Even "ol reliable" platforms like the Blackhawk or the F-16 had much worse reputations when they were first introduced.