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Windjammer sahib, I think it is wise to fill in the gaps now when we can...
![Wink ;) ;)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/wink.gif)
To be a decent force the F16's need to be around 100.Imagine you see a stopforce of 100 block52's flown by the best pilot in the world...
We re improving JF17 rapidly but where the Gripen took say 10 years we still need to do maybe 5 years... Yo do not see everything on the outside but I can tell that there is a lot done on the inside. Just imagine a nation that had a few F16a (1980 era), tons of outdated Mirages (even 60 era) and a fe hundred mig19's (what era was that?)... Now flies block52, is building a decent block 40+ kind of JF17 and maybe will get FC20 with AESA in two years... If you think that is nothing then look at IFR systems, AWACS, UAV, Drones and many more developments. We did it. Look at what India did... Look even at what Switserland did with the Gripen deal... We are doing pretty fine.
People tend to forget that we maybe not topping marketing the JF17, in engineering and producing we do better then expected. If the JF17 starts selling then just imagine what we can do. Basic training in house (other nations can skip that), advanced training in house, production of spare parts in house. We can provide turn key/lease JF17. Nations like Sri Lanka can have smaller then a squadron JF17's. We just provide them full support. We ferry the planes for maintenance cycles. We can upgrade them etc etc There is a whole world open for us. But do we have the political and commercial management? That is the question.