@wanglaokan makes an excellent point. There is something to be said about making or purchasing a weapons platform that is so advanced yet so expensive that you are actually afraid of using it in combat lest it be shot down. Case in point would be none other than the american F22 itself. At $350 million a piece, the americans are afraid of actually deploying it in combat, they barely use it in Syria and that too is under a huge cover of very nonstealthy F15s, F16s and F18s lest the $350 million dollar white elephant gets shot out of the sky! Frankly, tight French took india for hay ride by selling them less than 40 rafaels for over $10 billion, that is over $250 million per aircraft that isn't even stealthy, carries a huge infrared signature thanks to two big engines and comes with absolutely no tech transfer. To
@wanglaokan 's point, it is muchv more al effective a strategy to make moderately advanced aircrafts that ARE AFFORDABLE and can be MASS PRODUCED in intimidating numbers where the kids advanced of the enemy aircrafts would hesitate. Let's not forget that once upon a time, until the flight of the first MiG29, the best fighter the soviets had to send up against nato and usaf was the MiG21 which was albeit a challenge, was not as advanced as the F16s and the F15s and the tornadoes and the mirage 2000s of the time. And yet, it was affordable enough to make in large numbers while also being advanced enough to convince the americans, british, french and the west germans that they will not be able to achieve even an expensive victory against a large number of MiG21s and would be facing a turkey shoot where they would be a turkey.
Friends, I've been living in america since the 80s and clearly remember news programs like 60 minutes and whatnot where american generals were interviewed about the on going american/nato vs the soviet/warsaw pact confrontations and many of the american and british air force commanders unequivocally claimed that victory against the soviet block and remaining iron curtain was just not possible in the air primarily because of what I stated above and that it would have to turn into a "bloody slug match on the ground which is guaranteed to go nuclear", as one base nato commander put it. I don't remember who the commander was but I still remember the ominous words he uttered.
