f Modi trust LCA, he won't have to start the single engine tender, won't he?
Its not that simple.
India is facing another problem of manufacturing LCA Mark 1 / 1A fast enough to complete orders for 80 odd in next 6-7 years. therefore its not just the question of having faith in design but getting the product quickly as well.
for this the Single Engine Tender program is asking to create a parallel facility to assemble another 100 fighters in 7-8 years max.
However so many fronts are open now that it will create another pressure of adopting these fighters if different categories into its fleet for IAF. Therefore quick decision in this regard is urgently warranted.
but one thing for sure as
@Storm Force has mentioned in his posts on the thread, Rafale numbers are going to increase and maybe India would look to use them as a buffer against slip up in 5th generation fighter induction which is almost certainly bound to happen now.
They have contractual obligations to a number of parties that guarantee them a share of the production of ANY F-16, so if F-16s are assembled in India, the Indian manufacturer will have source components from many parties worldwide, including Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Israel, Turkey?
These are actually the points that might spook IAF. The sub assemblies and parts will have to be sourced from various countries and would LM or USG stand guarantee for life long supply of these (as spares) over a period safely running upto 2045?
I guess not.
& here Gripen has an advantage. Gripen E is very young fighter and with Swedish AF committing to it, Indian Gripen career would run almost parallel to those in Sweden, a far more comfortable scenario.
SO while i'm still not sure if this SE fighter program would actually proceed meaningfully (
@Abingdonboy : your thoughts!), but if India has to split its requirement of light weight fighters into 100+100, Gripen E is best available option.
