Just a thought…
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has time on its side. U.S. orders alone, about 2,400 aircraft, can keep production going for nearly two decades. But politics change faster than assembly lines. So who knows.
Canada and Portugal backing away isn’t catastrophic, but it’s not a good trend either. For any company, cracks like these are rarely isolated.
One issue that should be considered is the fact that the F35 is single engine. This is not a major issue in a combat scenario I would think, but in northern Canada patrols the air bases are few and far between. A multi-engined machine will save itself and it’s pilot whilst the best outcome for a single engined fighter pilot on northern patrol would be the pilot able to share his survival rations with a curious polar bear. For N.A.T.O. commitments a bleeding edge fighter would be fine, either the Saab Gripen-E or the F35.