coming up short

The result would be huge efficiency savings, initially from the scale of production and subsequently from the Southwest Airlines model of running just one basic type of aircraft across 90% of the fleet.

其结果将是巨大的增效节支：才从最初的生产规模，到最终实现西南航空公司的运行模式——90％的飞机属于一种基本机型

however, the size of the planned order for what is almost certain to be America’s last manned strike fighter makes little sense and should be cut.

几乎可以肯定地说该飞机将是美国最后的载人攻击战斗机。然而，原计划的大额订单已经变得毫无意义，应该削减。

 its ability to penetrate the best future air- defence   systems. 

他是否有能力穿过未来最先进的防空系统

The potential adversary that will dominate American military planning in the decades ahead is China.

将在未来数十年超越美国军力的潜在对手是中国。

For all its sophistication, against a “near peer” opponent the F-35 may not be able to do the job for which it has been intended nearly as well as the next generation of pilotless armed drones and hypersonic cruise missiles

。F-35结构复杂，其预期是要接近下一代无人驾驶战斗机和高超音速巡航导弹，然而当与一个和他先进程度差不多的对手的对决中他或许不能表现的那么好

 it could be obsolescent  会过时