It all comes from our requirement and India is currently the only country which can keep production lines alive for any country and any maker. So Gripen is not an exception. Regarding someone saying Gripen could be used in Naval roles is not true, as no one in the world operates single engine fighters from its aircraft carriers. Reason being if one engine fails then the plan will embrace the sea forever.
Well very correct. In the international fighter aircraft market, there are two big market -- One is India, and another is Brazil, rest big airforce like USAF, Ruaf, Europe, Plaaf have their own indigenous fighter planes. Rest are small markets with limited funds available. Grippen most probably the last fighter plane of SAAB due to lack of funds and after EF-2000 don't think Europe consolium will go for another project -- Britan, and France will probably go with 6th gen Stealth UAV program either alone or together.
Now new era have emergies the era of F-35. Great thinking and Strategy to bound all the allies and dependency under US Control, using US network, equipment, Server, Satellite in short NATO. In future, those countries who are incapable of 5th warfare would be left vulnerable, because the next gen smart weapons would shift the whole warfare to the next level, where the war would be short, high centric and high intensity and the goal would be to achieve the intended goal, not to hold the land. Even the weapons fired would be the sensors type which update not only the platform, but the whole battlefield management, and the commander could easily monitor the whole battle in real time. What would be left is either to developed your own solution, which would be impossible for the most of the countries, or to adapt the developed solution, for which naturally you pay the price for that. Dependancy on equipment, weapons could be countered with the home grown solutions or another party solution, but dependency in the system, would logically takes you to a block, which India have always avoided from the age of Cold War times. So this oppurtunity of us provided by this small, tiny, fighter plane have given us small footing which is called as Last Chance Aircraft by some of our friends should be fully utilized, because in next decades we are not the important economy, but also because due to youngest country in the world with the youngs ones of the age of 15-40 years of more than 65% making 25% of the whole Labour available in the world, the jobs which would transform the country, because its them who deserve better oppurtunity, life, education, country and its them who would be responsible to take the country forward.
Believe me or not in one or two decades India Aerospace would be global Giant with Not only HAL, but various pvt players mfg military, civilian fixed wing and rotary planes, and providing logistic and support making it an aerospace hub.
Look at the Aerospace giants (left LM intentially) Boeing, Airbus, SAAB they are mere integrator and in this global world, Boeing and Airbus with 40,000 subcontractor spread in the whole world. To become the global leaders, first we have to believe in ourself, give small support to home grown solution till it becomes strong enough to compete in the international arena. AMCA should be the natural project, but not before MK-2 but parallel development should be started with the subsystems developed for both MK-2 so that they could be available for the AMCA e.g Active Aesa MMR, Long Range BVR, Sensors, Communication Devices, and the approach should be intelligently coordinated between hundereds of PSU's and different agencies.
