alt Hacker NewsI'm not sure about maintenance hours. That matters as a function of proximity to maintenance staff, parts, new supply and so on. Flying from home bases, with no shortage of skilled labor can cover that.
Supercruise also matters a bit less when the distance to combat is shorter. Less fuel expended on "getting there" is more fuel for "on station". Plus, assuming more-or-less unlimited supply of machines and pilots means more flight hours on station.
So while the engines play a part in a hypothetical conflict, supply lines (and the length thereof) play (I think) a larger part.
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It matters for combat readiness.
The F-35, which was optimized for congressional district employment, has an effective 25% readiness rate (another 25% can fly but not fight), which is half of the 40 year old F-15C and 1/3 the newer F-15s.
Supercruise matters directly for BVR combat. It means that you can get high and fast to launch your missiles with the best parameters without burning half your fuel via afterburners. (Many fighter jets would burn through all their fuel in under 10 minutes at full afterburner.)
Maintenance hours are sure to matter in a real war where equipment is getting destroyed and supply lines are being disrupted.
I think you vastly underestimate how maintenance requirements impact how rapidly you can bring forces to the fight and how long you can keep them there. While that is exacerbated by long supply lines, it is an extremely important factor in any combat scenario.