Irrelevant. Noone said "cancel the F35 program", and noone said it can be totally replaced. The F35 program is running over-budget, so it's entirely reasonable to look at some cost reductions on the $2 trillion. (The current admin said they were looking for trillion-dollar cost savings by this April, and laying off the entire federal workforce wouldn't going to do that.) The choice is not a binary "100% of all the F35s currently budgeted, or no F35 program at all".
You can get thousands of suicide drones for the equivalent price of one F-35A ($80m). Both Ukraine and Russia are using these daily. (Obviously they don't have a fraction of the capabilities of an F35.)
The Houthis interdicted the Red Sea to commercial shipping in 2024. This is asymmetric: the US Navy couldn't afford to keep shooting down cheap Houthi drones with $2m missiles ("cost exchange ratio"). This is costing billions in economic damage. [0][1]
Another obstacle to where the F35 can't be deployed is the US blocks deploying leading-edge technology to some allies, for multiple reasons (espionage, lack of training, geopolitical), so such conflicts will determine which mix of drones or missile systems or F16s (yes, generations older) are more cost-effective.
[0]: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/07/houthi-yemen-defens...
[1]: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/dp-wor...