India "may" buy more SU-30 Mki's instead of Rafale

[DANGER-ZONE]

Very well done INDIA .... Now the greedy French would learn some lesson because they rejected JFT upgrades over MMRCA deal.

 

[Indian_Patriot]

Rafale deal imo is unnecessary for India at the present moment. If we look at our immediate neighbourhood, the Pakistani air force does not really present a credible threat to us with only the F-16s being of some interest. Even then in the eventuality of any conflict we can knock out the majority of Pak airforce bases with the Brahmos.
The Chinese air force has nothing comparable to the Su-30 Mki yet. I would spend this $20B by purchasing another 4 squadrons of Super Sukois at $100m each, 80 planes total $8B. These planes would be manufactured by Irktusk allowing for quick delivery. I would plough the remaining funds into acquiring more Pak-Fa and LCA MK2. We really need to get serious wrt indigenisation. The navy is heading the right way, its time for the airforce to do its part. I see the core of our modern 4+ airforce fleet by 2020/2022 to be as follows.

-400 Sukois / 20 Squadrons
-70 Mig 29s(SMT standard)/ 3 squadrons
-42 Mirage 2000/2 squadrons
-60 LCA Mk1/ 3 Squadrons.

This would be a fleet totalling 572 4+ generation aircraft. I have not included the remaining jaguars, bisons, Mig 27s.
This i feel is enough for that time period.

That is the end of my first message . Pleased to join this forum and to discuss current events.

 

[CONNAN]

To be sure, the primary reason for selecting the Rafale is to reduce dependence on one vendor country. Currently, Russia supplies more than 70 per cent of India’s defence requirements. The other objective is to acquire the full technology suite of a modern aircraft for local production. French technology is being pitched as the magic potion that will save the Tejas programme, while also providing a much-needed boost to the aerospace and defence electronics industries in India.

However it must be said that any purchase of the Dassault Rafale must happen with full transfer of technology in key areas such as radars and propulsion. The Rafale is being brought in not just for combat potential but also to take India's aerospace sector to the next level through offset requirements especially given the massive costs involved. If the French stick to promised terms and conditions then its worth spending 20 billion dollars

 

[Indian_Patriot]

We don't need to spend $20B to do that...do you know how much we spend on ISRO in an entire year..$1B. We could fund ISRO easily for the next decade for $20B and look what they have already given us. Its a waste. If we want to acquire modern propulsion and and electronics technology there are much cheaper ways to do that than spend $20B on the Rafale. Don't get me wrong..i think its a cool jet, with some pretty sophisticated tech, but we have other priorities as well.