Why is it that pet issues of the USAF (internal gun, less weight) and Marines (VTOL ...sigh) are allowed to f*** up what could otherwise have been a perfectly good common airframe, if not for interservice rivalry?
What does the USAF care about airframe weight anyway? It relies on operation from gigantic airstrips and supports its aircraft with inflight refuelling so technically range and payload isn't an issue.
And why do the marines need VSTOL? They sure as hell never needed it in WW2 or Vietnam, or until they acquired the Harrier which hasn't been that effective anyway. Why couldn't they be content with operating their F-35's from expeditionary forward airstrips?
At this point it's just TFX all over again and a lot of taxpayer money is wasted that could have been put to much better use funding a plethora of other projects that have now been relegated to R&D land.