@ sancho:
You are a respected member of this forum (at least among Indian). your posts are most of the time useful and informative. Its not crime to accept others view during discussion if you feel its valid, even though its contradicting ur view...
Adamant behavior doesn't pay...
Not sure to which views you are refering to, kingdurgaking for example is arguing, instead of simply reposting the same points again and again and I take his thought seriously, but we still can disagree on certain points. It's not about convincing the other, but about sharing informations, views, so everybody can make up his, or her own mind.
I do think LCA was a very good project for India, but I also point out the parts that failed, instead of blindly celebrating every minor achievement. I do think that it adds immensely to our indigenous industrial capabilities, but we would have achieved even more by now, if we planed it more realistically and used our advantages with foreign options. I am for more indigenous developments, but against limiting our forces with them only for pride reasons (NLCA, AMCA) and I have valid reasons as well I showed.
valid... we did it Dhruv with JV.. and who said we didnt do with LCA??
I didn't either, but those were mainly for minor parts of the development, while we wanted to do the main parts alone. A good example from Dhruv was the engine development, where the first were proven foreign versions, while the Shakti engine were a co-development (although also with much French input).
If that was a successful way for Dhruv, why didn't we went the same way for LCA?
And in 1990's who where ready to do JV or help us?? we are not super power or we are not that close to NATO.... the situation now is India has money so people are coming here to help us
Russians, French, as I said single engine RD33 and M53 engines were logical options in that time.
First of ALL AURA will take 2030 to fly i bet.. even US NGTA will come in service only in 2025 and you expecing AURA to come in 2030 is totaly over confidence..
Look at it this way, what is more difficult to design, the airframe of a stealthy fighter, or a stealthy UCAV?
Does AURA need a very capable engine and features like SC, or TVC?
Does it need NG cockpit and radar developments?
So when we start the developments of both pretty much at the same time, what is more difficult to develop for our industry, AMCA, or AURA?
All important developments that can lead to AURA are already started by our own UAV developments, FGFA, as well as co-developments with Israeli, or European companies. There is already a base and even plans for unmanned Dhruv and possibly LCAs. Why is AURA ready for production in 2025, which is still 14 years away, less realistic than AMCA then?
so is FGFA is alone enough?.... and total induction will complete by 2025...
Not possible, buddy! Even if we take 2017 as the start for production, we plan 250 fighters at least. We needed 9 years to induct around 130 MKIs, of which only 80 were produced in India. Around 100 MMRCAs are expected to be in production in India for 10 years as well, so why should 250 FGFA be fully inducted in just 8 years?
Realistically, the early MKIs might be even replaced by the late FGFAs and that's why I said, by that time (2030), 5th gen fighters won't be enough anymore and we need even more capable than AMCA. Personally I think that by that time UCAVs will be the main fighter aircraft anyway, but that's a different matter.
And who said FGFA is alone? 270 MKIs, at least 126 MMRCAs and 140 LCAs = roughly 600 x 4.5/5 gen multi role fighters by 2025, nearly 200 more than we have now, while UCAVs and hunter killer can take over the strike roles of dedicated ground attack fightes in addition.