LCA even in its present form is better than half the aircrafts in IAF's inventory. Nowhere near a rafale in capabilities, but still better than most of the IAF's or PAF's planes. It does have a quad redundant, fully digital fly-by-wire system, and a cockpit that is a pilot's delight. As a point defence or light fighter, it is right up there with any modern aircraft. But the IAF also needs other capabilities, hence the need for an M-MRCA.
If the French are playing hardball here, I would say cancel the expensive deal, and go for a direct purchase of Super Hornet international, with all the bells and whistles - including the new silent features, cutting edge AESA and EDE/EPE engine. Forget about ToT, but simply do the final assembly (from completely knocked down kits) at HAL. This will save a lot of money - for one thing, the F-18 is a lot cheaper than EF or Rafale, and for another, we won't be paying for ToT. With Boeing's mindnumbingly huge production capabilities, we will get all the 126 (or 189) fighters in five years' time. The IAF's pressing need is for numbers, not technology - as it is, we will have two aircrafts (super MKI and these) that are technologically superior to anything in Asia.
We have already made this mistake of conflating numbers and technology - first it was with the LCA. The IAF saw a future need to replace huge numbers of mig 21s, and informed the GoI. The GoI also saw in it an opportunity to develop our aviation industry from scratch to fourth gen standards. As a result, now we don't have the LCA in our arsenal yet. Similarly, the IAF wanted to buy 126 mirage 2000-5 in the year 2001. Then somebody decided that we should also get cutting edge technology transferred from Europe to India with the same purchase, completely ignoring the IAF's need for numbers. And now, a decade later, we still haven't finalized a contract to get the damn planes.
Nobody would want to transfer all their technology just because we throw money at them. So let us use a lot less money to just buy the end product, and use the rest of the allocated money to do our own R&D, and produce our own stuff in future. It is the more difficult route, but it may be the only possible route. Dassault did not get to where it is today by buying technology for money. NEither did boeing or LM or anybody else.
If we go for a direct buy of the SH, the munitions pakage will also come a lot cheaper. We will be saving at least 5 billion dollars, which can be pumped into the LCA and AMCA programs. Once we are done with the R&D of the LCA Mk2, we will be in a position to start serious work on the AMCA - and then we will actually be on par with some of the best in the world. It will take 15 years of hard work, but ultimately that is what will benefit us, not an expensive "ToT" from Dassault.
The fact remains that, GOI can't afford the money with complete TOT & went to france for soft loans which france was unable to hand out due to the current economic downturn. And also they R not idiots to hand over decades of hard work on R & D to any x, y, z countries.. Btw its nothing to get upset about Indians, U guys should accept the fact that the whole world doesn't revolve around bollywood fantasized world.
