As per the article of B Harry (Radiance of Tejas)
Which is from the early 2000s, we have official DRDO and ADA specs from the last 2-3 years, which clearly shows that the weight is around 6.5t so far away from what was expected back then.
Specification in HAL website states the Payload of 5.3 tons and service sealing of 16 KM.
Welcome to Aerospace Division of HAL
I know and I have other specboards from DRDO and ADA as well, which alone shows how badly our industry is working together when they don't even get common specboards done. However, DRDO as the main developed and ADA as the designer should have the most reliable specs, besides that I guess that the HAL HP has simply made a typo, 5.3 instead of 3.5t payload.
not much differences however ive read that tail less delta needs a stronger engine to overcome drag
Drag is an issue, most likely because of the big wing compared to the small size, the nose could be a problem in that regard too. When the issues of the FCS are over and the aimed specs for IOC 2 are reached, it is quiet competitive to the Gripen C, even if the flight performance is still slightly lower. The potential is there, we just need to finish the development!
i never get why pakistanis tend to underestimate indian made hardware.
That's our fault, not of Pakistanis, Chinese or others, because we tend to aim too high and want to make things better than we actually could. That doesn't mean what we can achieve is bad, but as long as we don't see our developments with a more rational view and aim too high, people will have enough reasons to talk down our developments.
We have the money, we have the access to foreign partners and techs, we have the indigenous technical capabilities too, we just need to find the best way to combine these things in the most effective way!