So if one of our top priorities were protecting our northern airspace, for example, from incursion by 30-year-old or 40-year-old Russian bombers with propellers that apparently don't actually come into our airspace but come somewhere near it--and the government gets quite upset about that--then wouldn't speed be more important and wouldn't it be more important...? The F-18s we have currently are in fact, as I understand it, faster than these proposed JSF fighters, according to the specifications.
On October 7th, 2010. See this statement in context.