I don't know where the SE td disappeared to,but was this piece by BK posted? In a much earlier piece criticising the Rafale deal he gave some startling figs,costs of spares,maintenance,etc. : One M2K costs twice that of an MKI and a Rafale will cost twice that of an M2K! IT's how he has calculated the Rafale deal going to cost us at least $40B during its lifespan!
In this piece on Apr !st this yr. he argues that wtht the LCA who needs a legacy F-16?
https://bharatkarnad.com/2017/04/01/ind ... has-tejas/
Intro Xcpt:
India Doesn’t Require F-16s When it Has Tejas
Posted on April 1, 2017 by Bharat Karnad
Tejas Fighter plane performing a manoeuvre at the Hindon Air Force Base on October 8, 2016 in Ghaziabad
(Tejas at Hindon AFB, Ghaziabad, October 8, 2016)
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi’s visit to the US to meet President Donald J Trump is now on the front burner, with an emphasis on ‘deliverables’. If Delhi is keen on easing the H1B visa regime for Indian techies, Washington is eager that Modi sign up for the fourth generation F-16, a deal seen as ‘open sesame’ for endless future transactions on military hardware, and implement the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement. If the fourth generation F-16 is the key, what does it say about India that the BJP Government is interested in an antique American combat aircraft, optimised for air warfare of the 1970s, as a frontline fighter for the Indian Air Force well into the 21st century?
Back to the bombing requirement.We do not possess any N-sub apart from the Chakra (Akula-2) that has an LRCM capability like a USN Ohio,etc. Even the Chakra has only Klub,not BMos,etc.It could carry the longer ranged Kalibir seen in Syria,should the Russians sell it to us.
Attacking rtargets in the high Himalayas/Tibet means that the sub will have to be stationed as near to the BDesh coastline to fire these missiles and such a capability we may have in only a decade's time from now.
The far simpler solution is to quickly acquire SU-24s,which Sukhoi are churning out like sausages,very reasonably priced, and base them for the Chinese front in the NEast. Russia also has dozens of Backfires which require avionics and EW upgrading,once offered to us.The SU-34 has performed v.well in Syria and more are being ordered for the RuAF. Being from the same Flanker family will ensure a considerable degree of commonality with our MKIs. Just preparing for a 10 day war with Pak and 2 week or so war with China is ludicrous.We all saw how long the kargil War took and do you think that China will run out of steam in 2 weeks time?
Unless the IAF has the numbers in hand-and these cannot be acquired by buying ultra-expensive western eqpt.,we will be in sh*t street in the next war. The cheapest and most cost-effective way in which both capability and numbers can be obtained is to treat Tejas as a life-or-death situ,even starting a 3rd line if needed and buying MIG-29/35s/MKIs a many as we can and sealing the deal for the FGFA so that in 4-5 years time we may have one or two sqds. in service.. This will cut down the time required for acquisition and will require noi extra money or infrastructure for aircraft assembly/manufacture using HAL's existing plants which build Ru fighters.