Well i think we need to go a little deeper then that....F-18 will definitely put a seal on more F-16's for Pak, no??? I am expecting atleast this much from Babus to put up...
...My perception is different on this issue....The way i am looking at it, if this deal go through it will put a lid on any more F-16's or F-18's to Pak...
First of all, I meant that PAF could buy way more J10Bs with the same amount of money they pay for US/western fighters.
Secondly you have to keep in mind the difference between Pakistan and India for the US. At the moment Pakistan is the closest alley for the US in the war on terror. Without the help of their military, the US will never be able to end this fight, so they are dependent on them. In this situation we can give them MMRCA and buy C17s, Apache, Chinooks..., but there is not a lil chance to block any sale to Pakistan. All we can do is pressuring them to not sell key weapon system that clearly are focused on India, like cruise missiles for example.
Even Russia, our closest alley is selling engines and stuff to Pakistan, so we should really get over the idea that we could stop anybody from doing the same, only because we buy some arms too. The only chance to do it, is to have a say, or be involved by a partnership / co-development and that is something that only the Russians, or Europeans can offer us.
For example, teaming up with EF consortium, or if possible with Dassault on Rafale, would give us a real chance to block such deals and that's what I understand to go beyond a buyer seller relationship.
We must keep in mind that even if you are in defensive mode you need to carry out missions inside Enemy Territory....With such a huge numerical difference you need a healthy number of state of art planes. 100 odd MKI's will not do the trick however 150-200 MKI's complemented with 126-200 F-18SH will surely do, no???
But 150 - 200 MKI complemented with any MMRCA will be a boost right? It is not special for the F18SH and imo, with the Eurocanards we would have a bigger advantage over PLAAF than with the US fighters. The combination of the lowst RCS and METEOR missiles in BVR, as well as the supermanouverability of them in WVR gives us an edge in any situation right?
No doubt about it....However looking at our potential enemies i.e. China or Pak we would be pretty much sanctions free...Having said it we should ensure that we don't compromise on TOT a lot....This deal should be pretty much last deal for 4.5 generation fighter...It is High time we should follow China and start churning out our own fighters....In short whatever we choose it should and should complement our home grown technologies to churn out state of art fighter planes....
Imo the worst point are all these restrictions! No radar source codes means, we must inform the US first if we plan a strike in Pakistan (like it was planed after the mumbai attacks) and is that a good idea, if we know they are one of the closest alleys of Pakistan? Also how can we complement out techs with US, if they don't provide any critical techs and don't allow to team up in co-developments, or JV like the Russians and Europeans do.
I said it before, chosing the US means only reducing the dependence on Russia, by being dependent on the US. Some think it is a good idea to have good relations to both countries and I am not against that in general, but for me Indias independence must always come in first place!
Don't agree here....In other words all these problems have no relation with F-18 as MRCA choice....Mig-35 have very little chance in MRCA and we all know about it....India is a big market for defence equipments and we have a long list to keep all parties interested. Moreover we have time-tested relations with Russia which cannot alter by one deal....As far as rafael tech goes in Pak hands, then rest assured that will not happen unless and until you see a order of similar magnitude which in current economic woes is highly unlikely for PAF.....Moreover there is always a danger of tech getting leaked to China.....Regarding PAF going after Rafael of Typhoon or similar birds then they always had the choice, its the money which is a problem for them....In short if we go for Rafael then they can go for Typhoon and vice-versa...You cannot do much about it...IAF should just look at what is best for them...
It is not only MMRCA where the Russians loose, IL 78 tanker lost, Mi 28 helicopters are very unlikely, same goes for Mi 26 that will loose to Chinooks, Kamov helicopters seems to loose over Eurocopter LUHs...
Except of already availabe types like Su 30, Mig 29 and Mi 17, we are not really buying new Russian arms right (Pak Fa / FGFA and MRTA are co-developments)? So if Russia can't sell things to their number 1 customer, where will they go? No matter how deep our relation are, they have to think about their economy too and especially if we get closer and closer to the US, they will start change their minds.
Regarding France, like any other country they want to sell their arms and techs too and by the fact that they are not dependent on the US, they will offer these things to Pakistan too (Mirage 2000 techs for JF 17 for example). But the more we co-develop with them, the more we can infuence such deals as a partner, not only as a buyer.