While your larger point is well made and taken, the point that nobody recognizes Indian tactics or jugaad is a thing of the past. Even the mighty USAF had to acknowledge the IAFs innovative tactics.Karan M wrote:So true. They give us a 80% product and watch from the sidelines as we fall over ourselves trying to fix their missing bits. And then take all the credit for the hard work we do in making the aircraft or tank or whatever work to begin with. So if IAF beats USAF in some exercise, no mention of ROE or Indian ingenuity in tactics. Its always how great Russian gear was. If anything doesnt work, those blasted Indians can't do it and then comments about how India is no longer appreciating Russia and all sorts of snide commentary about our programs.Cybaru wrote:
They let us do that as it doesn't meet our needs without the modifications. They recognize that and instead of fixing it, let us mod it to meet our needs. Its not out of goodness of their heart. They leave the headache of integration to us so that they are not held responsible for making it all work.
Yes, behind the scenes there has been some really positive cooperation, but we have paid in hard cash for that. As our economy grows (and is not mismanaged), the line of folks who want to work with us, will steadily increase. Russia simply doesnt seem to understand that without proper service and spares, they will lose their hold on the Indian market.
The true usp of Russian hardware is the fact that not only can we customize their wares, but the costs are considerably cheaper than Western counterparts.
There is a reason why the IAF never got the mirage in the 90s and instead landed up with the mki, which even though, was hardly an mki at the time. Even so, a plain su30 or 27 too will be more than a match for any mirage.
So, this whole thing about Russian hardware being bakwas compared to Western maal is a no go, at least not in terms of performance.
Furthermore, it's not like India didn't have to fix and tweak Uber Western gear. The Jaguar is a good example.