cygnus

Again, you're operating off your own limited experience. Ask someone who does Excel programming (yes it's a thing) if LibreOffice compares. It does not.

Can I ask your perspective on the comments here saying that Krita and Inkscape just aren’t comparable to their commercial alternatives?

I am a professional and have been doing this since... Well, I started with Mac OS 7, let's put it that way. Krita and Inkscape are like using craft scissors to cut sheetmetal. They're simply the wrong tool for the job. They are maybe 10% comparable to Adobe apps. Affinity apps are probably 60% or 70% comparable. Anybody who says Inkscape is a replacement for Illustrator simply does not use it in any serious professional capacity. It doesn't even have any means of adding paragraph spacing!

At best they will repurpose certain features to add them to some "pro" (but still web-based) version of Canva at $50/mo. There's no way in hell we'll get Linux apps for Affinity. I really wish we would because they are literally the only reason I still have a Windows VM.

I don't necessarily disagree with your take here, but this is all conjecture until we see a 5th-gen in real combat. There was that story about an Israeli F-35 sneaking right up to a... I forget what, Syrian AF probably, but even if that anecdote really happened we haven't really seen them used in anger. As I said elsewhere here, China is really the only one who'd offer a near-peer opponent (unless god forbid the US go so far off the rails that they turn on NATO).

One example I should have mentioned earlier is that the F-35 has cameras outside the plane so that the helmet HUD allows the pilot to look "through" the fuselage. It does much more than simply show sensor readings inside the visor.

I must not be explaining this very well if that's your takeaway.

The Gripen doesn't have the systems (hardware or software) to run it. The F-35 was designed from the ground up to use this.

SAAB have a basic version but there's less info about it and it's certainly less advanced. https://www.saab.com/newsroom/press-releases/2016/saab-receives-order-from-fmv-for-a-new-helmet-mounted-display-system

If the plane is used for defence, is visibility that important?

Sure, it reduces losses and gives much more tactical advantage.

Sensor fusion is a software feature. Why can’t it be replicated in other aircrafts easily?

It isn't just software. Even the pilot's helmet in the F-35 is highly specialized and has integrated HUD:

You're right, but these aircraft will have a service life of at least 20 years, and who knows what the world will look like then? Russia could be a Chinese vassal by that point. Mind you, I'm not suggesting that anybody buys more F-35s, I'm just saying they are not comparable. What needs to happen is Gripen/Rafale short term and a serious fast-tracking of the FCAS.

And also Berlin 1936, and Moscow 1980.

This was already covered in great detail all over the internet, but the main two factors are:

1. Stealth. The F-35 is much harder to detect, and you can't attack what you don't know is there.

2. Less talked about is "sensor fusion" which aggregates sensor data from the aircraft and others to give a much fuller view of the situation.

Running costs are the least of your concerns when shit hits the fan. The F-35 is simply more capable, there's really no way around it. This isn't an issue vs Russia but against China it could be.