If Pakistan had more to export to Europe, I don’t see why Europe wouldn’t want to balance out the trade with export of two dozen eurofighters to Pakistan. Sure it’s ever expensive, but the tech is modern and it’s possible Pakistan could borrow some from Turkey in the event of conflict with India, to temporarily boost numbers. It’s also possible the Eurofighter could be a nearly match for the Su-57, which India seems more inclined to buy. It would certainly cause a psychological impact on the Indians, as an advanced western fighter, and their pre-disposition to not underestimate western fighters. We also need to objectively remember the Eurogighter was optimized for A2A, against Sukois specifically, while the Rafale was primarily a long range strike first platform and A2A platform second.
24 Eurofighters would probably cost more than what Italy intends to pay for the same number of aircraft; $7.9 Billion. So its only realistic, if Pakistan can dramatically increase exports to Europe and offer Europe to balance the trade with a defense deal. Realistically, it’s probably a $12 billion deal for just 24 aircraft, considering it’s a new type and Pakistan will need to procure weapons along with the jets to make them worthwhile. IMHO, Possibly worth it, for the above stated reasons, including access to the latest training and tech from Europe, if Pakistan can increase exports to Europe by at least 3-4 Billion a year to offset the costs to procure, maintain, and equip the jets.
It’s possible Pakistan could get 24 Eurofighters for the price Qatar paid; $6 Billion.
Qatar Increases Air Combat Power with Additional Order of Twelve New Typhoon Fighters
armyrecognition.com
Europe was more liberal with their defence loans to Pakistan in the Cold War, especially the 1960s through 1980s. Once the Soviet threat ended, the urgency to support the defence industry wasn't the same and, as a result, nor was the need to take on high-risk debtors like Pakistan.
For example, back in the 1990s, the PAF tried securing a loan from the French for the M2K/-5 on multiple occasions. It had even reached a point where the French President or PM would knock on their finance ministry's door to figure something out and the latter would say, "no, too risky."
The breakthrough came when the Pak Gov't had agreed to buy the cutting-edge variant (M2K-5 Mk2) at a high cost (wasn't sure if it was for helping to cover the overhead of the upgrade or the interest
@Oscar). However, Benazir Bhutto's gov't got canned and the new interim administartion didn't want to sign the deal (or maybe the French backed out due to the higher risk, not sure).
For the Eurofighter Consortium to extend a loan to Pakistan, the PAF would need to order like 32~40+ fighters (i.e, create the production longevity case so that European jobs are assured support). But that'd necessitate like a $10-12 billion USD loan at least, which is a big sum for a high-risk nation like Pakistan.
However, with Western Europe aiming to spend nearly a trillion dollars on revitalizing their defence industry and driving big procurements, they might consider it in the future. It'll depend on the urgency of needing to fuel the industry and what collateral or market access they can get from Pakistan.
One measure could be to open FDI into the actual industries that matter, like our agriculture and, to be frank, defence industry. I'm sure the Europeans would love to own the MRO piece of any Typhoon purchase in the PAF, which they can also leverage to service aircraft from nearby countries too.
There's a way, but it takes timing and really good negotiating on our part, ideally by folks who have an awareness of the big picture (EU-US dynamics, EU policies, offset opportunities, etc).