Abingdonboy
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"Overestimation of capabilities on HAL's part" is fairly accurate. When this project first started out (mid 90s) the GoI/MoD/DRDO/ADA/HAL failed miserably to understand the complexities involved in a first of its kind project like this for a nation as industrialised (or lack thereof) as India. It is also clear that no one could have foreseen the crippling technological sanctions India, and by extension HAL/ADA, would be made to incur just as this project was starting to gain some momentum which set them back years.It always does. But then again "this context" is no excuse for the previous mismanagements and overestimaton of capabilies on HAL's part, now is it? This isn't the first delay after all and its only the first time where the foreign contractor has caused a delay.
Let's not forget that the first LCA prototype flew within 6 years of the project actually beginning- this is quite a commendable achievement considering the base that the ADA/HAL started with. Subsequently the sanctions kicked in and the project stalled.
By any objective measure there is nothing alarming about the LCA project's timeline- the Rafale, Eurofighter and F-22 have all taken longer to develop and enter service than the LCA and this too coming from some of the most advanced and industrialised nations on the planet and the world's leading aviation giants (BAE, Dassualt, Lockhead Martin etc) it is all a matter of perception now- the LCA is a failure/delayed because this is what people say but there is little empirical evidence to support this.