It's a classic misunderstanding between "academically viable" and "operationally viable".

The military doesn't need to get an A+. It needs to win. Anything else is a bonus.

Which is why the A-10 is a better plane than the F-35. One shows up and BRRRTs the opposition into a fine red mist, when you need it to. the other makes it pilot motion sick as soon as they put the helmet on.

The A-10 and F-35 are completely different planes for completely different purposes. The F-35 attempts to be able to perform most of the things the A-10 does, but you can't just say one is better than the other overall. The A-10 is probably better at shooting ground targets at close range. The F-35 is better at bombing them from 5 miles away.

That's the problem though. The F-35 tries to be good at too many things. It has the latest sensors and stealth and armaments.

But it's taking forever and a day to get the damn thing out the door because it's too academically excellent.

The wired article linked in the top comment talks at some length about how the software was able to be updated in the wild.