Here is why Russians are smart
Stealth adversary when spotted visually , the only way it can escape is speed up and jet out of danger
Guess what if you are being chased by 5 Mig-41 , the billion dollar F-35 might not make it home
F-35
Maximum speed: Mach 1.6+ (1,200 mph, 1,930 km/h) (tested to Mach 1.61)
VS
Mig-41 major mismatch if planes make visual contact (Top Speed 5,000+km/hr)
That is just rediculous amount of speed
Not necessarily - that kind of speed is a disadvantage in a dogfight, as it increases your turning radius. You get a head to head pass, and the guy at optimal turning speed gets behind you - your only option as the faster plane is to keep going. If there are multiple bogies, you got problems, gotta keep going past them all.
For reference, the SR-71 had a turning radius at speed of ~100miles (150+km).
Speed is most useful for performing intercepts - you can get to an un-agile target faster. This is one of the reasons why the US Navy retired the F-14. It was faster, and had longer ranged, faster missiles, but... the F-18 was more agile, more versatile, and the Navy believed that future engagements would be decided by the missile guidance system rather than the pilot racing out to get there before the inbound aircraft could launch/drop bombs.
Me-262s had problems against P-51s if they tried to engage in a turning battle. Their tactic was to make a pass, then loop way out around to come back for a second pass. You need good range for that (a problem for the MiG-25). Works better when the target is even less agile (e.g. bombers). Good range and high speed mean huge size and NO agility (e.g. SR-71). Cutting size to gain agility cuts fuel load. Cutting speed will cut both, but then we're not talking about the OP's aircraft anymore.
Appearances are the Russia intends to invest in both interceptors (MiG-41) and fighters (Su-27 family). You build planes for a purpose. Assuming this one ever gets built, it is not for engaging F-16s, it is for going after bombers. The US still maintains a bomber fleet - its not all about building aircraft suitable for Pakistan. I suspect this one would have no real purpose in the PAF, other than as a bragging point. You're better off with more multi-purpose aircraft, as India has no special purpose penetrators of note (e.g. B-1, B-2, B-52, who knows what on the drawing board - India's got nothing in that class).
India has apparently considered getting Tu-22Ms, in which case you might think about an aircraft of this type to counter - though you can probably intercept a Tu-22 with an F-16, which would be much cheaper and preserve flexibility over a dedicated interceptor with no other use.
Tu-142s are easy meat for F-16s, waste of money to get a high speed interceptor for that.
This whole thing reminds me of the MiG 1.44 project - faded off in to nothing. Before it did, Russian-airfan-boys were all over it as the ultimate aircraft. Wait till they actual have a production line running. Writing an essay about your dream aircraft is cheap. Producing it is another matter.
