So they fought an insurgency without being able to provide timely air over leading to thousands of soldiers deaths out of laziness for over a decade? Clearly when Zulus and T129s were dead, they couldn't care less to provide a local more up-to-date solution or heck even upgrade the existing inventory.
I actually believe they can't produce anything that is not literally a copy. And of course no engine is a separate issue.
They have Chinese handholding and teaching them to build portion of it only. Akin to teaching anyone to hammer nails into a floorboard but doesn't make them architects