The Indians are very very worried about the J-35AE as they know they have no real answer for it. The Su-57E is a bit of a joke, and F-35 is off limits. The European options are a decade away as of now.
The KF-21 maybe their answer in the end, don't be surprised if we hear talk of that platform at some point.
Yeaah, but even the Koreans themselves concede KF-21 is not full 5th Gen.
It's ok, they could go for KAAN. Oh....oh wait.... Hahahahahaha
I think India's only real capable fighters are SU-57 but there are real worries about Russia being able to deliver soon in enough quantities. Thus India going for the large, expensive Rafale order: Something better than nothing. And India has deep pockets.
The j35 is purchasing into the broader Chinese military ecosystem, networks, links and evolving military concepts plus tech, emphasis evolving
Actually so did the j10c, and that's an old jet and that is literally what Pakistan benefitted from, the data links and avioinics and missiles
What feels like a lost battle for India is they have no option to match this going forward, even the f35 they will get an export version and upgrades won't be straightforward, consequently it could be perpetual catch up just on fighter jets, even if they have some indigenous leap they can't necessarily incorporate this to either j35 or Rafael
Probably should have persisted with su 57, but what Russian tech won't be compromised by China,risky.
All this aside , paf adds value, and working with turkey who are leading some innovations
Nothing can be taken for granted, India has a much larger geography so missiles are a real threat and these days dominate wars, it's not clear who has an edge with drones, not sure either country should have an Iran style war approach, feels like a road to ruin , gentlemans agreement perhaps
