Stage 3 is the two seater variant.
but did not India gave the order up and ordered 146 single seat variants instead
oh about sticky threads i am not free for a long time i wont have time for PDF in near future
However, you have to appreciate that the Indian Strategic Thinking, the rudimentary knowledge of it which Indian politicians and bureaucrats have, is latched onto a principle of flexibility and independence of actions while emphasizing close cooperation yet equidistance. That Russia has been a reliable partner and friend and indeed is likely to remain a leading country in the same, can not be denied. While a perceptible shift in Indian stand with respect to US has taken place, one needs to pragmatically take into account the same with respect to the Sino-Pak equation and the unsettled boundary issue with China in the backdrop of inability of Russia to meet certain requirements in a time bound manner due to the inherent nature of dispersal of systems and sub-systems manufacturing across the CIS ( a legacy of the Soviet policy) in backdrop of the conflict with CIS nations and resultant sanctions.
The attempt at balancing an be exemplified by the example as mentioned by me earlier
with all due respect
I will not appreciate indian strategic thinking yet
because India has never been in the positions Pakistan survived
you see for Pakistan all the issue of backward economy rises due to economic sanctions of 90s(other factors did not contribute much)
India did not had to fight an existing super power or been on wrong terms with one
we did both (fought soviets and tangled with Americans)
i dont see why people mostly pakistanis call Army paid soldiers
all Pakistani Army ever did was directly in Pakistani interest including war with USSr
but not deviating the thread you have to realize Russian ambitions
they want to create a strong Eurasian bloc and their biggest ally is not India but China
there is a reason why russia lifted their unannounced embargo on Pakistan and are offering minor weapons which were not available for us however i do think that Major weapons acquisition can also be made with russia which will need massive diplomacy involving China but no financial package
now opposing Pakistan in Afghanistan and making US stance stronger is a problem for Pakistan
which creates trouble for CPEC china's ultimate plan
now russia dont give a damn about what happens this far south in Indian ocean but move to pacific now
russia has backed SCS India should remain neutral but is unlikely due to Modi's tough stance policy
India not attending NAM also gives a signal
now what has to be seen is how India manages to cooperate with US without provoking Russia
how India manages to break KSA away from Pakistan(highly unlikely) and keep Iran ally
if they do this well they will be the diplomatic power second only to US
you can never underestimate US they always have some ACE up there slaves
also note that America has been successful or India has been successful you can use whatever you want as it is a matter of perception to keep India neutral If not allied .... a neutrality shook after 1962 and 1971 but realize that it were all of them including Russia who created NSG after smiling budha
in the end all i want to say is interesting changes are ahead and nothing is predictable who would have predicted that a hardcore US ally overnight will sit in Russian lap .. and US is master of these tricks...... now a misadventure with china including US can change things and things are cooking that way