Do you think ADA will go public and criticize the gov and IAF? Just compare the upfront cost of Rs 17,547 crore for the upgrade program of a 25 yr old airframe with that of LCA tejas overall developmental cost of Rs 17,269 cr by 2018 that too done in batches, including the naval variant and trainer as well as the Kaveri engine, I would call that a minuscule investment for a desi program. IAF has upfront funded the development of FGFA/PAKFA, but not interested in funding desi program AMCA that can replace jaguars etc in medium category after 2030. Not showing generosity delays the desi programs, for example Kaveri engine has to be taken to Russia for high altitude testing. I think IAF or the gov can be generous enough to fund the high altitude test facility in India to avoid all the tamasha of taking it to russia?
Point one: R&D takes a lot less money in India because of the lower salaries and labor costs. Check out how much an Indian scientist needs to be paid, and how much a French one needs to be paid. Only one billion has been allocated to the LCA program, because THAT IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED to be allocated in India. The slowness of the LCA program was not due to lack of funds, but because we had zero experience in that field, and zero supporting ecosystem for an aviation industry.
Point two: WRT the engine testing facility - once again you are making the mistaken assumption that money solves everything. Do you think that if the IAF had thrown a billion dollars, a high altitude test facility would magically have appeared in India? We could not have built such a system ourselves - that is a very specialized, niche technology that only exist in a handful of places in the world, due to their extensive experience with rocket engines spanning half a century or more. One of the reasons for the C-17 deal being so pricey is because half a billion dollars would be spent by Boeing in establishing such a facility for us in India. Without Boeing's help, we would not be able to set one up even if we pump in a hundred billion dollars.
Developing a technological base for such an advanced area like the aerospace sector is not a joke, and is not something that will magically happen if enough money is spent. It takes hard work, which is what we did with the entire LCA program. Funds were not an issue at all. Our inexperience and lack of technological base was what was wrong, and that is what we addressed with the program. It would not have happened any faster or better if more money was spent. They spent as much money as was needed. There is no doubting that fact.
If HAL could have done these upgrades of mirages themselves, then we would not have needed to go to France. But the unfortunate fact is that nobody in India has the technological ability to do this kind of an upgrade, and so Dassault WILL make us pay through our nose. We need the mirages for some time to come, since they are still our second best combat aircraft, and we need them to stay relevant and potent. We have the need, but we don't have the capability to do it ourselves - so what happens? We have no choice but to go to Dassault, and being good businessmen, they will charge us an arm and a leg.
If HAL could have done it themselves, it would have cost much less. And you can be sure that IAF would have gone for that route. But as things stand, HAL doesn't have the ability, and so IAF has no choice, but to go down this route. Let us not put the blame on the IAF for what is a collective failing of our nation to develop technological and industrial capabilities.
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