In its present form, JF-17 is a 3.5+ generation aircraft.
I am actually quite curious to know Sir how did you come up with this assessment, please expand on it. From what i can see is that JF17 is the most advanced fighter aircraft in our inventory as of now. It is a Pure Multi Role Aircraft belonging to the 4th Generation. The reason why i believe its a 4th Generation Aircraft because it houses a Full Glass Cockpit, Advanced ECM/ECCM Suites, Sensor Fusion, DEEC, EFIS, MFD, HUMS, FBW, RWR, DAS, Self Protection Radar Jamming Pods, HMS, Datalink, Turbofan Engine, DSI Outlet and a Pulse Doppler Radar. I dont know how possibly with all these specs it cannot qualify as a a true 4th Generation Aircraft
The thing is that of pak had 200 jf 17's in stock and the enemy had 100 su30---I would still be a little skeptical about our defence and offence---but due to the numerical superiority, I may breath a little easier.
Numerical Superiority was never on our side, it has always been enjoyed by the Indians because of the sheer size of their country and economy. They might be adding 300 SU30MKI to their inventory, but i doubt it if they will send all of them towards Pakistan during a time of war. The next war is going to be short and intense, so numbers wont matter much.
Over here neither there is numerical superiority, nor there is an air to air superiority---an su 30 can carry 8 bvr's---the jf 17 can only carry 2---an su 30 can see and act from a farther distance with immunity---it can do the same against the jf 17 that the f 22 is designed to do against other air craft.
Indeed the MKI can carry more weapons because of its huge size, but havent you realized that the first thing the pilot of the MKI would drop is his additional weight when he realizes a missile is on its way to blow him to pieces.
From what i know is that as of now; the JF17 has 7 hardpoints, the 2 wingtip hardpoints will be loaded with WVR IR or Heat Seeking Missiles, this leaves the other 5 hardpoints open and i am sure according to the mission they will be loaded with the proper ammunition but i dont think it is only constrained by 2 BVR Missiles.
I am not sure how can you claim that the MKI can see and act with immunity from a farther distance. Considering the fact that we will have 8 AWACS patrolling our skies, TPS 77/YL2 3D Radars based on Ground, there is nothing the Indians can throw at us that we will not know off in ample time. Both Aircrafts will see each other roughly at the same time, MKI's huge RCS will be picked up long before it can act naughty by our AWACS and Ground Radars. I think we should all write a personal Thank You Note to the IAF for introducing AWACS to South Asia, they destroyed the single biggest advantage that the MKI had over us and that was its radar detection range.
The su 30's bvr's have a better killing range than the sd 10---it can get closer into the 90% killing range and fire multiple missile at the same target before the jf 17 can get within the 90% kill range of the sd 10---the su 30 can then turn around and scoot---the jf 17 may not even have the chance to fire at 90 % kill range.
And how can you say that Sir, we still dont know what the capabilities of the SD10 are but we do know is that Chinese possess R77 in their inventory and they definitely would have made the SD10 better than the R77. Its only a matter of time before China overtakes Russia in the field of military, Russia simply does not has the energy and resources to compete with China on equal footing. The R&D and the Military Industry Complex that the Chinese are building is something that only the Soviets could do. Besides; we also have Darters in our inventory and according to Shamim Sahab it has a range of 120 km, better seeker, increased manuverability and agility. Both Aircrafts will take a shot at each other at roughly the same time, no sane pilot would fire his missile at its maximum range. Besides, we can let the JF17 fire the missile and let our AWACS guide it. The perks of Force Multipliers
Our design is based on somehow the jf 17 will get closer to the su 30 and then show what it is made up of. Well that might not happen. The playing field has been changed with what the F 22 is designed to do---other air forces will follow suite as well.
Incorrect Sir, the JF17 was designed to take on SU30MKI whether its in BVR or WVR with the help of our force multipliers. You can compare these aircrafts on paper all day that you want, but luckily wars are not fought on paper. Unless the Indians can somehow add Stealth to SU30MKI, it can definitely be shot down and it will be shot down if God Forbid a war breaks out. ACM Suleman wasnt joking when he made it clear that any attempts of Surgical Strikes will be met with an Iron Fist, well that Iron Fist was already demonstrated to the Indians Post Mumbai and the message was well recieved by IAF.