You still don't get it. Ok first of all we are talking about 4.5 generation M-MRCA option here which is far more advanced than the 4th gen from 1970 you are talking about.
Don't know about MAF {@Aung Zaya do you know about the MAF fighter requirement?} but India still has requirement of 114 jets under MMRCA 2.0 program. IAF also have plans to replace Su-30 with Western fighter.
So lets' assume at least 450+ 4.5 generation fighter jet consisting of Su-30, Mig- 29/35, Rafale, Tejas, JF-17, (F-16/18, Gripen under MMRCA 2.0) etc will be operational in MAF-IAF for at least 30+ years.
So what are you gonna do to counter these large number of fighters? You gotta maintain quantity and quality at the same time. You can't buy any Western jet in large number because of price and politics. Even if we buy EFT, we won't get Meteor for at least 4 years. Russian jets are currently out of the question and require high maintenance. Also Russian after-sales service are poor.
You can't deploy large amount of 5th gen either. As i mentioned in my previous thread it will be costlier to buy and maintain a fifth gen fighter than a 4.5 gen, it will be similar like maintaining EFT/Su-35. Price of a F-35A is $80 million. Even if BAF go for a 5th gen it will be at least after 2028/30.
There's no guarantee that BAF will go for J-31 as there will be lot more better options available like KFX, TFX, Japanese and European option. Turkey-BD military relation is already growing and they see BD as a potential customer for TFX. Also our current AJT is Russian Yak-130 only. So unless we buy any new AJT, there's little chance to think about any other 5th gen except Russian which also seems impossible for now.
Also there's no guarantee that BAF gonna buy any 5th gen fighter in large number. It could be like our Mig-29, F-7 combo. And it will be operational with EFT few years later at the same time. So it's gonna be 2/3 squadrons of EFT and 1/2 5th gen maximum. You still need a fighter to fill up a huge gap.
Now if you watched BAF's flying formation or remember PAF's counter attack on IAF in 27th Feb; there was Mig-29, F-7 and F-16, JF-17 flying together. A high-low mix. Now BAF will look for a jet which has low per flight hour cost, can be deployed, stationed in mass and scrambled sooner to intercept at minimum cost. It will not always scramble an EFT or 5th gen fighter to intercept a JF-17/Tejas/Mig-29-35 as it seems costly overkill. It will need a cheaper option for regular CAP.
Considering all the things, if we can't afford large number of Western 4.5 gen or 5th gen then what other option is left for us? It's only J-10 (Or JF-17 for the worst situation). It won't be hard to maintain even if economy goes down. It will be like 4.5 gen F-7. At least 3/4 will be necessary to get close to our mid-term 100 jet goal.
And J-10 didn't see any export success yet cause China didn't promote B and C block before. Suggesting J-31 is like suggesting a 5th gen F-7. Cheapest 5th gen but still costlier than J-10.
It's true that BAF can't afford more that types of fighter so i think there's no need to worry about 5th gen till 2030/32. For now we gotta strengthen AF with 4.5 fighter, SAM and better radar. Later we can induct a 5th gen as 3rd option if few amount.
Perhaps my writing is a mess but hope you get the picture.
Problem is they won't let you use it for offensive role and approval from congress/DoD for weapon sales takes time. If any internal problem arise that's also gonna be problem. Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, China are prime example not to rely on US completely.
No one was insulting Pakistan, talking like Indian and no BD member brought Pakistan here first. One Pakistani mentioned JF-17 as an offer and Basel got kinda riled up about it. I was unaware about Pakistan making aerial munitions and Basel didn't reply straight like you did. Thanks for the infos.
What do you think about EFT and J-10 combo? How about 2 squadrons of EFT and at least 3/4 squadrons of J-10 for trying to achieve BAF's mid-term plan of 100 jet? EFT can perform air superiority and maritime strike while J-10 form the back bone of BAF?