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he-man : @
Bang Galore is right that both the EF and Rafale were found suitable for the IAF's needs. At that time, the Rafale did not have a working AESA either. In fact, none of the non American contenders did. What the rest of them showed was a proper plan that they could come up with an AESA by the time the first jet is manufactured. Of these roadmaps, the IAF found the Gripen-NG's hard to believe, which is why it was rejected. All the rest were found credible.
Now remember that Captor is probably the finest mechanical radar put on a fighter. And that Captor-AESA will be based on the same radar, except that the mechanical array will be replaced by an electronic one. All the backend systems will be the same. In other words, it will be one helluva radar system. The IAF is convinced that the Euro consortium can develop such a radar in time, so I don't see why we should doubt them. The French too developed the AESA version of their radr only after India selected the Rafale.
If it is true that we can get 126 jets for 10 billion dollars, I say grab the offer with both hands. ToT and such shams be screwed. All the past ToT we got on MKI and migs and jags did not help us build even an LCA. If necessary, pay for the ToT of the most important components, like the radar. Then utilize our meager resources to build LCAs and FGFAs and AMCAs. The LCA and AMCA experience will give us a lot more capability than any ToT ever could.