Kahan ho janab dikthe nahi ho aaj kaal.
Only 2 Janab this year and 2 next year excluding all prototypes. after 2017 the production of LCA mk1 or 1a whatever will rampup. India is very slow as compare to China, they should take leason from China and should send its deligation to Caltic China to improve HAL efficiency. See how they are struglling to deliver the product and China is producting the kits with good chinese packing material loaded on transport plane ready to be assembled in KAMRA. LOLZ
Quite an interesting point, well as far as the comparison of JF-17 and LCA goes, I've seen alot of the Indian members pointing the same thing again and again -- however like most of the other subjects the opinions of us members are tainted by patriotism ...
Some from the Pakistani side believe JF-17 is the "it" plane, that it is the cure for every problem that we face when it comes to IAF -- let's just start by admitting its not -- like every other aircraft it has its set of limitations that it has to face all of which are discussed to the death by critics and supporters alike on this forum ....
However when it comes to this "indigenous" battle, lets just say
that a comparison is dishonest to begin with because one is supposedly an "indigenous" fighter project, the other from the outset has been termed a joint venture --
However when it comes to LCA and JFT, say project wise (Project A vs Project B), there is not even a comparison ---
JFT outperformed its expectations, it was supposed to be a low-mid tier economic fighter, yet today --- it just happens to be termed the "destiny of PAF" by none other then the airchief himself ... not simply because its a good platform, but for what it gives to PAF ...
it gives a generation advantage over the fighters it replaces today ... It gives PAF the options to engage with other suppliers and integrate weapons of choice with freedom, it gives minimal problems when it comes to having strings attached ... it gives higher availability rates, low turn around times etc. ... and combine that with the fact that PAF is very pleased with the performance and the fact that it still remains true, to the original objectives of cost effectiveness that was laid down when the concept was conceived ...
For a nation like Pakistan, with no prior history of manufacturing jets at all, this is a MAJOR breakthrough and a success even if the indigenous content is 0.0000001% because it overshot the original goals that were laid down for it ..
However, when you look at LCA, you see the original idea revolving around having "indigenous" equipment, and with time lags that the project faced due to being committed to having that "indigenous content" the project fell apart ... to the point where the whole "indigenous content" objective took the back seat to short term fixes like getting inputs from industry giants just to get it work --- which I don't blame you for, because that would be the course of action any sane organization would take, after all there would be no use of "indigenous" equipment if it was a generation old when it was ultimately put in to service ... but ultimately, one of the main objectives of the project took a back seat, lets go further where is it now ... delayed again ... now the news is even more depressing -- The same IAF that was saying that it will take MK-II in numbers is now rumored to be settling for a less capable version in the MK-1 or a slightly upgraded MK-1A because the squadron strength of IAF is declining and you have a huge number of Mig-21's to replace and can't face any more delays ...
Now combine that with the fact that production in numbers is still a good 2 years away AT BEST --- what does it say about the project ?? -- that it's a success ?? now I wont say that it doesn't benefit your industry because that would be ignorant of me, however the fact remains that the LCA project wise is a laughing stock ...
these comparisons of .... "ohh look its more indigenous then your Thunder" are meaningless because the JFT is our first attempt at a fighter jet, India on the other hand already has the Marut experience --- and the project comparison puts LCA project to shame no matter how you look at it .... by the time the full blown production of the LCA starts, the JFT project would be in the initial phases of up gradation by half a generation over what it currently is ...
