Philip wrote:I would advise the GOI/MOD to look at the experience of the MIG-29K with the IN,purely from the numbers point of view,expanding the number of sqds.,and as replacements for the MIG-21s,with engines being manufactured here already.It is the most cost-effective multi-role aircraft around.The Gripen ruled out if the LCA Mk-2 arrives on time.Since there is going to be much re-designing of the LCA MK-1 to accommodate the new engine,a definite timeframe has to be met otherwise the entire LCA programme will end up in obsolescence and as a massive tech demo experiment.Here HAL could enlist the help of SAAB if need be as it is the only manufacturer with a similar product.The Pakis are rapidly increasing their numbers by local manufacture of JF-17s,a modest but very useful addition which is affordable.They're "cutting their kurta according to their cloth".The IAF on the other hand wants the world's best fighters ,but to pay fir them with anything but the world's best economy,the legacy of the neo-Roman empire! In the era of PGMs (which the Pakis desperately want in v.large number),as the USN's CNO Adm.Greenert said,why buy expensive sports cars when "bomb trucks" can do the job equally well.
Surprisingly, I tend to agree with you ...
That brings me to the part-2 of the analysis - on the solutions.
IAF wants good aircraft now. That is the most important objective.
As someone pointed out above, 126 Mirages would have been ideal. Especially an MKI'ized variant. Didn't happen.
There is one thing that you need to consider: how long would the aircraft be relevant. Given that most countries (strategically relevant ones that is) are developing and are expected to field VLO aircrafts by 2030, would the aircraft be obsolescent in next 20 years ? And if the lifetime of the aircraft is really 20-25 years, would you still pay for the Rafale ?
And that is where I feel buying a cheap aircraft like Mig-29K/OVT would have been beneficial. You aim for next 20 years.
That leaves it with:
a) Go ahead with Rafale. But squeeze the French out to get full technologies at as low a price as possible. It is probably what they are trying now.
b) Order more MKIs and more LCA Mk1. If the Rafale negotiation drags on till the LCA FOC, then this becomes a serious alternative. You always prefer the bird in hand against the two in bush, and FOC would seriously tilt the scales.
c) More practically, but least probably - squeeze Putin (when he visits next month) to make an immediate decision to manufacture Migs in India at a very cheap cost with full access to test data, AESA codes, engine manufacture and MRO. And decide within 1 month. Invest the saved money on AMCA and have it ready by 2030. But IAF doesn't want to put all eggs in the Russian basket, so the most practical approach is out.