F-35 is an impressive Technology
It is not meant to be the most maneuverable asset in sky but merely a plane that shoots from distance and then runs away, Using it's impressive Jet , it has greater top speed then many Jets which use Afterburners (Which cost more fuel). So enemy can't chase it down for long periods
It's main advantage
a) It sees you first
b) It fires at you first
c) It makes a get away first
d) The helmets allow the pilot ability to target by visual sight an added advantage
Common Sense Counter:
- Heat seeking missiles
- Anyone from ground or sky can "visually" see the plane and inform Air-command location of F-35
- Air to Ground Artillery based on visual detection not radar signature can spot a 5th Gen craft no counter measure work on a old fashioned artillery fire
- Group of Fighter Jets can encircle the plane and communicate position of a a few F-35 to each other
Satellites are great tool to find any bird
Digital Optics are improving so much that even a invisible 100 million dollar plane can be found from Sky
You see for a group of Traditional 4.5 generation planes they just need an approximate location of where this F-35 bird is once they get near it generally it is a massacre
May be China already thought of it I can't be the first one to think like this
Similarly floating Heat Signature capture tools can find the heat signals from F-35
These tech already exist
A Satellite can view a greater areas
The F-35 would still be visible , even if it is BVR to a traditional flying foe in air
Space is the next frontier for war which is why folks are not testing anti Sattelite missiles
China claims to have anti stealth radars already
Russia also has them
China is also making a Quantam Radar (Anti Stealth)