sancho
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The truth remains, IAF delayed DARE upgrades (Mig27M) and integration of Litening for both jaguars and Mig 27M's which led to such situation to begin with.
That wouldn't have changed much, because they still would have needed LGBs which the Russians didn't had either and that's the point! Relying too much on Russian weapons, limited IAFs options, one reason why all remaining Russian fighters in Indian forces are meant to get Indian weapons like Astra, Sudarshan and so on. That's why IAF wanted more M2Ks, to be able to use French, Israeli or US weapons too and increase the capability even further. For example, if we would have got M2Ks in the first MRCA competition, we might had cruise missiles since years and a propper deep strike capability, which IAF lacks today, because there are not many similar options available for the Russian fighters.
MMRCA is fuelled not by delay in LCA but with your's and mine tax goldmine. I would argue IAF or at least certain sections in IAF is causing delays in LCA too.
Of course they have their shares too, but you can't deny that the key delays was caused by the failures of engine, radar developments, just like weight and drag issues. All this has nothing to do with IAF, so you hardly can blame them for this and that they didn't wanted to put their hope only on Indian industry and today we know that they were right to do so, since LCA is still years away from being ready. So MMRCA is indeed fueled by LCA's problems and the longer it takes to get LCA done, the higher the need of MMRCA. The problem is only, that everything takes so long in India and is done so complicated.
Mig 35 or the envisaged Mig 35MKI could have been exactly what Su30MKI did for IAF
Not really, because it didn't added a single advantage to IAF, that wouldn't already be existing through the MKI. High maneuverability through TVC, Russian weapons, but all that in less the capability of the MKI, while being clearly inferior in all modern capabilities to the Rafale too. Be it a low RCS, SC, passive sensors, the way better A2A and A2G weaponary...
The MKI was a game changer for IAF and so will be the Rafale, since it provides IAF with operational capabilities it lacks and which the Mig didn't offered. Not to mention the fact, that it hardly makes sense to bridge the LCA development delays, with a fighter that itself is a paperplane as well. That's where you can criticize IAF, to let fighters enter the competition or even the trials, that are available only in tech demonstrator versions. The Mig and Gripen NG should had been rejected directly and we would have saved a lot of time in the trials.
Dependability on russia as an military ally has been a boon for Indian forces...
Nobody has said anything about Russia as an ally, but about being dependent only on the capabilities of their fighters, or their weapons. When you don't have precision, or stand off strike capability, you have big problems in modern warfare and PAF is ahead of IAF today in these areas, while they catched up in the BVR too and that with alternatives from the US, China and their own. Sticking to more of the same Russian weaponary then logically, wouldn't have gained us anything.
To all Indian defence enthusiasts:
Rafale has been selected for MMRCA, there will be no change in that, the only bone in the contention will be fly away platforms produced in DB, they will increase to twice thier numbers (speculation)
My nostradamus-ish predictions for IAF (which @sancho might disagree to)
I see it pretty much the same, except of the additional MKIs, which would be a silly decision. It would make more sense to get more Rafales directly from France to speed up induction and add some early Pak Fa's from IRKUT, to have an operational advantage even before our adversaries can induct a stealth fighter.
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