Back to the topic please.....
I hope now IAF signs a deal for another 36 hopefully F5 versions.... even if is getting delayed because busy lines nothing much to worry for a nuclear power armed with SSBNs and now hypersonic missiles..... buy F5 upto 36 to 48..... finish MRFA drama, navy should sign another 36 for 3rd AC carrier and and focus on SSN program......
I am extremely glad to see navy is on right track and required speed......
Take the hope - put it through a realism sieve - and then tell me what will happen based on the last 10 years of history in Indian procurement.
MRFA has a program champion who is making their earning and shining their pads to the Air Chief. They would not exist unless the chief and other supporters of this program in MoD did not exist.
So someone with not just higher authority but support has to come in and trash it before it goes.
Then let’s say there is the want for outright buy of F5s - that has to go through the usual channels - approvals and so on unless the same higher authority or veto power fast tracks it.
Then it’s the Navy - regardless of having the treasures of Somnath - you cannot create Rafale pilots and Rafale technicians and spares storage sites by just signing - not to mention the 3rd carrier has to go through paces and not the Vikramaditya situation where both the aircraft (mig-29k)and carrier were taking much more strain than expected and reducing expected lifecycles.
What is more realistic is that each of these purchases goes through usual 5 years cycles but also gives the services time to absorb the aircraft. Eventually Rafale will become the new M2k for IAF with 3-4 squadrons that provide a high availability, high reliability weapons system to be employed in effect wherever needed.
The scale with IN will only make it better because pilots could be cross trained and spares storage and maintenance managed together. Perhaps even taking full ToT of M88 and LRUs so unless India wants new Rafales it isn’t too dependent on France.
Everything else then has to meet that benchmark.
The biggest challenge for India right now is that while it’s taking all sorts of pushes for indigenous projects - they are all in various stages of concepts/ on hold for lack of resources or kit bashed from foreign suppliers.
You want to compete with China? Stop feeling good on quality bashing - first make every inch - from the cut of steel - to the chipset to the ejection seat to the helmet and the cloth that cleans the Heads up display in India. Then - you can feel good.
Don’t worry about copying designs or otherwise - only fools waste time on feeling guilty if their sword looks the same - a different curve or color wont change the need to be effective to cut and kill.
If the Tejas is a mini Mirage so what?
If the AMCA looks like an exact F-35 or YF-23 or KF-22 SO WHAT??!
So long as everything critical in it is built in India and it works to kill the enemy - no one truly cares.