ur r again and again twisting the plot by involving another nations in a topic that just relate to india,name any reverse engineered copy that u can say is better thaen rafele(a project that took 20 yrs)...we have no problem if someone is getting ahead of us using reverse eng as like u have seen in MMRCA the best is always available for us
reverse engineering is not a permanent solution,but developing R@D is
rafale took 20 yrs of time...but its next varient will not even take 3 yrs to develop as they have already mastered the product
By stating that you have the best available like MMRCA actually you are now proving to be more ill logical than i thought of.
My idea was to compare the benefits of R&D with Reverse engineering.
What you gain and what not...
Simply put, you can buy off the shelf with large amounts of money. But considering the fact that a sixth of the world's population (India i mean) wouldn't benefit in any way from it means you are just wasting resources. To develop into a super power you need to have your roots right. No one is saying that you cannot buy. Infact you can increase your Defense Budget to near the size of US defense budget, i.e 50% of GDP and go around buying anything possible. But your scientific and defense community will gain nothing. Next generations want to know what India made it self. Not what they bought up.
The reason why i brought other countries was that to tell you how the Western world differs than the east. China, India, Pakistan and maybe that is one reason why their economies are so advanced.
Here is what Wernher von Braun famously said ( The guy who build V-2 German rocket and later the mighty Saturn V)
''Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will always remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence.''
That last sentence is worth noting....
French made Mirage, learned lessons, Delta wing not good for air-air combat, so they introduced canards leading to awesome Rafale.
Americans started with F-86s, F-16 ( Negative static stability) which was later on every aircraft leading to F/A22 and JSF.
Europeans, same story with the Eurofighter.
I am not even going to go into the fact that how many other industries have benefited from the R&D that went into military jets. HUDs in modern cars is one example so is drive by wire. Carbon fiber, Magnesium and titanium alloys and the development of cleaner fuels. Honeycomb structures and modern computers. In fact in America people attribute the advent of Personal Desktops to the development needs of the Space shuttle? Getting the idea what i mean? Investing in your own Fighter R&D will not only produce great fighters, but will also develop other industries
If today India Starts to design its own fighters, it might take it 20 years, but then you will end up with your own version, research in materials will lead to start up firms in India doing research in that field, landing gear, engines, fuel all of which will benefit the entire country, not just a few squadrons of the air force that were simply equipped with billions of dollars of bought planes.
Now what will India gain from MMRCA? No experience, no R&D. If you are willing to spend upwards of 10 billion dollars, at least let it be so that your future scientists and engineers have something to talk about.
It's never too late to start. Your ambitions of becoming a superpower cannot be done without having strong roots in R&D. Buying is not always the best option, though it might be the quickest one.
With a sound R&D you can secure your future from any set backs, sanctions, external pressure etc.
Long story short, the discussion is that the Air Vice Chief is making an irresponsible remark by saying that India should go towards reverse engineering. We, the south asians are already good at it. What he should instead be saying is to increase the funding for original and innovative ideas. A guy as senior as him, simply make no sense by saying you should do reverse engineering.
Sorry for the long posts, but please do read them before you reply!
