hmmm under estimate LCA.... neverthless your point is valid.. JV has always worked for us... considering MKI and Brahmos.. we will surely bring this bird to life.. as $30^9 is a huge money which we wont waste...
No, sir, not underestimating the LCA. Merely pointing to the fact that it is far behind on schedule and still under-developed, partially owing to India's lack of experience in the area. I followed that by saying that "this is a Russian design", i.e., they have done this a hundred times in the past and, therefore, it is much more of a threat.
I am also not referring to manufacture a 5th gen locally, the intention of examples was that even if a country has significant experience with 4 or 4.5th gen machine manufacturing and designing, 5th Gen is still a hard nut to crack. Considering PAF's need for replacement of 3rd gen fleet and no manufacturing experience of combat aircrafts, Its simply too demanding given the limited human and financial resources PAF has. I have said it before that PAF would certainly eye a 5th gen if regional situation warrented it. But its simply too far flungh at this point of time
Sir, I am not denying any of your points. But please consider the fact that nobody, not Russia, not China and certainly not India, has had a taste of Fifth Gen before, and yet they are pursuing it. We may not have a great deal of experiencing designing 4th Gen aircraft, but we certainly have some 20 years of experience operating them, which is, incidentally, longer than India has.
See, here's how I see it. Even if we can't provide technical know-how, we can, at least, assist with specifications and requirements development, program management, and, most importantly, funding. If, say, Pakistan can become a 25% partner in the J-XX program (hypothetically speaking), that would not only solve our 5th Gen problems (possibly with ToPT once we are able to absorb it), it will even be more cost effective in the long term (as the per unit cost will certainly be much greater once it is in the production phase). The key difference to understand is that investment is greater than purchasing, and since the PAF has to move towards the 5th Gen eventually, why not invest?
Of course, that is only one idea. I'm sure if the PAF's top brass sat down to address this problem, they would find many more. Like I said, the F-35 may also be a possibility.
