I dont know whats wrong with you guys???
SU-30 is the best option. Its a superior aircraft and we have alternate supplier China if anything goes wrong. How Gripen could be any better than Sukuis? Sukuis been building testing those birds for ever.
Its not toy market where you just pick which looks good to you.
You know, Chinese J-11s are very different from SU-30s, they look similar externally but have Chinese radars, avionics, armament, etc. And fairly quantifiably, Chinese weapons and avionics have exceeded the Russians. Quote below is from another discussion on this forum about Bangladesh, SU-30s, and JF-17s, see the underlined bit.
Wasn't it reported that some fighter pilots from friendly countries' airforces were allowed to come to Pakistan and test-fly the JFT? I'm wondering if BAF pilots were among them. If *any* country's pilots are allowed to fly our JF-17s, BAF is likely to be among them.
And all these discussions going on over here about JF-17's comparative performance to various aircraft(Indian).. you have to compare the whole avionics package of an aircraft to understand how it may perform in combat. For example, the JF-17 was designed compatible with China's front-line combat weapons suite. This means it uses the same AAM(Active Radar& Heatseeker missiles), same Laser-Guided Munitions, etc, that their frontline J-10, J-11(SU-30) use. The Pakistanis actually took shipment of the latest SD-10B BVR air-to-air missiles even before the PLAAF took shipment(Pakistan's needs were deemed more urgent as China already has older SD-10 BVR versions, some people also suggested that Pakistan might have some development input in the -B variant given they're taking priority shipments). Along with China's frontline weapons suite, Pakistan has also been acquiring what it likes internationally, like the MAR missiles from Brazil for SEAD(Supression of Enemy Air Defence - destroy enemy radars, SAMs from a safe distance).
The SD-10B, which is China's latest BVR air-to-air missile packs quiet a punch. China has been able to invest alot more in this area(as well as most other areas) compared to the Russians(who face funding problems), and one consequence of this is that the SD-10B offers superior performance to the R-77 BVR missiles that Russia manufactures(and India uses). Even western sources rate the SD-10B to be roughly equal to the AIM-120-C5 missile(slightly older AMRAAM), superior to the R-77.
Also in addition to China's missile-development being much more rapid(and well-funded) compared to the Russians, India has been operating R-77s since the 90's, so these are almost decades old and aren't even the latest and greatest R-77s Russia has been developing. The latest SD-10B has a range of over 100km+. In combat, despite the SU-30 exceeding the JF-17 in some areas, in this critical area, the JF-17 would be able to achieve missile lock at, and shoot down, the Indian jets before they can manage to come close enough.
Being a smaller aircraft(smaller airframe = lesser fuel-carrying capacity), the JF-17 isn't ideal for deep strikes into enemy territory, as it's combat radius is limited(1352km combat radius without external fuel-tanks, 3480km ferry range with fuel-tanks). But for defensive purposes it packs quiet a punch. And 1352km is pretty decent for strike as well, quiet a terror for the enemy, conducting missions over a thousand km inside enemy territory.
You don't even have parity with us. The generals in Naypyitaw are not trying to match you, they are making sure they will always be ahead. Come on, man. If what you bought in the past few years is hawkish spending, it underlines my point that you don't have the funds or the political will to militarise yourself.
