ACE OF THE AIR
SENIOR MEMBER
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I didn't include rafale in my Indian side disappointments,
coz i ve ignored it until its signed and sealed.. can get dragged for couple of years , no one knows, better to forget it.
whatever i have felt were imminent things like LCA SP2, NP2 , LUH , IJT, BTA verdict etc..
don't you feel disappointed at all ?
i felt good coz, u havent widened the gap with us, but bad because missed the hot debates had it succeeded
You can ignore it for some time but when that becomes reality it hurts. Lets agree that LCA now has become more or less ineffective unless a completely new design is going to be produced as block 2.
In 2012 while visiting IDEAS did come across a few Nigerian Air Force personnel who were taking great interest in the JF-17 but they were looking towards the Block 2 which was at that time not disclosed to the public. Looking at todays JF-17 development things have really moved forward i.e almost all the weapons that are required in modern air combat have atleast been tested may be not fully integrated. The aircraft has been flown in a war even though not yet against any air force still it is combat proven.
The only disappointment is that it is still a single seater, Hence personally my inner self was indicating there may not be a contract till the twin seater prototype is shown to the public. In one of the threads regarding JF17 read that PAF did not consider a twin seater version because the Pilots were more relying on simulators and F16's. May be this was due to the fact PAF pilots thought that JF-17 would be flown by the most senior pilots who have already have flown the F-16's before.
If we look at the present situation regarding the Mirage III/V's the news that no export orders have been placed could be a blessing in disguise. This might make PAF realise to expedite the JF 17 twin seater version so that the training can become a lot easier (may be PAF might consider equating JF-17 and F-16 and pilots can be trained pellaral.)