As said in the previous post that assumption is F-18 has been choosen....
First of all, I meant that PAF could buy way more J10Bs with the same amount of money they pay for US/western fighters.
No Sancho...It is not just about numbers...Otherwise they should go for JF-17...In case you are saying J10Bs are as potent as F-16 block 52 then that's a separate discussion...
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.
Well there is no doubt US is in a catch 22 situation however it is not easy to ignore long term benefits vs short term benefits....The war is going on from past 9 years and i am not if Pak has got any game changer....Just think there has to be some political goodie for F-18 to end up as favourite, otherwise why the hell we will go for a fighter plane with so many strings attached to it???
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.
It is a little more then that...Russia did block the sale of engine initially on GOI behest....However ban was lifted because of many reasons
- China
- Cash
- No real justification for blocking the sale...In other words when you are getting MKI's what real harm can JF-17 do to you...Mind it i by no means is degrading JF-17 however if we compare techs then MKI's are much more capable fighter.....
It is plane simple, if i am shedding $10 billion dollars i would expect that my adversary do not get hands to same/similar goodies atleast from the same vendor...We should have that much confidence on policy makers at our side....This is very bad otherwise, don't you think so???
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?
I have nothing to disagree here....However as said we are assuming F-18 is the winner...My choice split the tender between Rafale and Eurofighter...
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!
I am in agreement with you there...
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.
As said we have huge list...I am sure you have already read such news but just for quick reference...
India, Russia to extend military cooperation till 2020 :: Brahmand.com
Remember Russia and India have time tested relationship....It is not just about money...
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.
I am not completely in disagreement with you here...however i am sure you agree that one do not share these sensitive technologies on drop of hat...You got to have a big order of the magnitude of MRCA to get hands to such things....I mean just compare the kind of TOT offered to us with the amount involved...This can give us some idea about what PAF can expect...