Rafale May Not be the Best Choice for the IAF

[war&peace]

Hi War&Peace,

1. Why not J-10C? Costs 60 million a piece and doesn't share the RD series engine. Meaning a lot of investment in maintaining the maintenance intensive AL-31 series.

2. Why not J-11, J-16, etc. Expensive, and huge maintenance burdens

3. Why not Russian AESA: Low quality, and the TR modules are not of the same technology standard. EW and other equipment again a problem. Plus, using the KLJ-7A and the basic fit of the JF-17 Block 3 (scaled up: AESAs are quite scalable) you would again share the same logistics and maintenance ease.

Good to know that you've done some homework.
What is the cost of MiG 35? and MiG 35 modified with Chinese avionics?
What is the cost of J11 or J16 each?

 

[Armchair]

Good to know that you've done some homework.
What is the cost of MiG 35? and MiG 35 modified with Chinese avionics?
What is the cost of J11 or J16 each?

MiG-35 going at about 35 million dollars per piece. With Chinese equipment on board, the cost might be lower, but since this would be an export to Pakistan, the per piece rate might be higher.

No need to develop an expensive engine overhaul facility, as this will be there for the JF-17s anyways. Same / similar electronics. This is a deal that is hard to reject on logical grounds.

 

[The Accountant]

MiG-35 going at about 35 million dollars per piece. With Chinese equipment on board, the cost might be lower, but since this would be an export to Pakistan, the per piece rate might be higher.

No need to develop an expensive engine overhaul facility, as this will be there for the JF-17s anyways. Same / similar electronics. This is a deal that is hard to reject on logical grounds.

Migs r expensive ... life cycle costs r high ...

 

[LKJ86]

MiG-35 going at about 35 million dollars per piece. With Chinese equipment on board, the cost might be lower, but since this would be an export to Pakistan, the per piece rate might be higher.

No need to develop an expensive engine overhaul facility, as this will be there for the JF-17s anyways. Same / similar electronics. This is a deal that is hard to reject on logical grounds.

Nowdays, the radar and avionics of a modern fighter are more and more expensive.

 

[Armchair]

Everything is expensive. The word expensive itself is a relative term. A shoe can be expensive at 1000 USD. A bomb can be cheap at 10,000 USD.

The reason I can safely say that a Chinese AESA will be cheaper than a Russian AESA is because, the T/R Modules need to be fabricated in a process that is very capital intensive. The costs are like producing a newspaper; producing a few is expensive but the more you produce, the cheaper the rate becomes. Many parts that go into fighter planes are like this.

Other than the Russians being half a generation behind in a few of the technologies, their scale of production for AESA and other key components is so low that their unit costs will be high.

 

[Gandhi G in da house]

France's Rafale May Not be the Best Choice for the Indian Air Force
May-21st-2019


The Indian Air Force has a long history of operating European military aircraft, most notably the Mirage 2000 which until the induction of the heavier MiG-29 in 1985 was considered the country’s most capable fighter for air to air combat and was relied on to counter the growing F-16A fleet of neighbouring Pakistan. Soviet and Russian jets came to comprise a greater proportion of the Indian fleet from the 1960s, and these fighters were far better placed to contend with American aircraft sold to neighbouring Pakistan as European platforms tended to lag behind in performance relative to those of the two superpowers. A part of the Indian inventory was nevertheless reserved for British and French jets. Of the Indian Air Force’s thirty four fighter squadrons today, these include three squadrons of Mirage 2000 fighters and five squadrons of Jaguar attack jets - or 26% of Indian squadrons with the remaining being Soviet or Russian designs such as the MiG-27 strike fighter or MiG-29 multirole fighter. In 2015, having gone over thirty years without an import order for non-Russian and non-Soviet fighters, the Indian government signed a highly controversial deal worth €7.8 billion ($8.7 billion) to acquire 36 Dassault Rafale ‘4+ generation’ fighters from France - a platform designed to replace the Mirage 2000 in the French fleet.

Dassault Rafale '4+ Generation' Medium Fighter

India was the first client to show major interest in the Rafale, which had been in French service for almost 15 years with little success at promoting it overseas. At well over $200 million per fighter, the aircraft were far from cost effective even by European standards, with the United States and Russia developing and exporting far more sophisticated and heavier platforms such as the F-15E and Su-35 at a fraction of the cost. In terms of combat capabilities, the Rafale was a medium weight fighter comparable to but more sophisticated than the MiG-29, which was considerably outmatched in its performance by heavier fighters built around specialised air superiority or strike airframes. While the aircraft integrated an advanced active electronically scanned (AESA) radar, the small size of the radar relative to those fitted on heavier aircraft such as the J-20 or F-15SA limited its performance. Although the fighter was marketed as a highly manoeuvrable platform, engine performance was sub standard with French engine technologies appearing to lag several decades behind the United States and Russia with just 75kN of afterburner thrust seriously limited manoeuvrability when fully loaded and contributed to the fighter’s below average speed of Mach 1.8. Lack of thrust vectoring, which had begun to be integrated onto Russian and American jets in the 1990s and 2005 respectively, were also absent on the Rafale which further limited manoeuvrability. The French fighter’s altitude limit was extremely low by the standards of medium weight aircraft at little over 15km, meaning even other medium jets such as the MiG-29 and Eurofighter could fly considerably higher - let alone heavy platforms such the Su-30 and F-15 which were designed to operate at 20km altitudes.

Rafale (left) and Su-30MKI Scale Comparison

The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been repeatedly criticised by opposition for the Rafale deal, with the capabilities provided somewhat limited and the costs of the acquisition considered highly excessive. While supporters of the Rafale acquisition have claimed that the fighter would be the most capable in the Indian inventory, this claim remains highly questionable particularly when the aircraft is compared to the Su-30MKI - which currently forms the bulk fo the Indian fleet with twelve squadrons in service. This advanced Russian ‘4+ generation’ air superiority jet is among the most capable platforms of its generation in air to air combat, with its performance specifications exceeding those of the Rafale across the spectrum. Able to reach speeds of Mach 2.25, the Russian jet is 25% faster than the Rafale and can operate at altitudes over 30% higher. The fighter further deploys a 40% higher weapons payload and retains considerably superior manoeuvrability due to two dimensional thrust vectoring. Furthermore, the Rafale’s payload of air to air missiles is extremely limited with the fighter currently compatible only the MICA for longer ranged engagements - an ageing medium range design with an 80km range and limited electronic warfare countermeasures relative to more modern platforms. The Su-30MKI by contrast is compatible with some of the most capable air to air missiles developed, including the 110km range R-77 and 130km range R-27ER for long range engagements and the 400km range K-100 designed to engage heavier targets at extreme ranges. The Rafale is slated to deploy the European Meteor missile with a 300km range, though this has yet to be successfully integrated onto the French airframe and its capabilities remain questionable given European manufacturers' lack of experience with such advanced and long ranged munitions relative to the U.S. and Russia. The Su-30MKI is also expected to deploy a new missile in the near future, the R-37M, with a hypersonic speed of Mach 6 and 400km engagement range. The R-37 is currently deployed by Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors, and is the fastest and longest ranged munition of its kind.

Indian Air Force Su-30MKI


The advantage in quality of armaments further extends to the air to ground and anti shipping roles, with nothing the French platform can deploy being remotely compere to the Mach 3 BrahMos cruise missiles deployed by the Su-30MKI. New variants of these missiles are set to field hypersonic capabilities in the near future - with no remotely comparable developments in munitions announced for the Rafale. Despite the overwhelming superiority of the Su-30MKI, the Rafale’s cost is over four times as high and the Russian platform. Furthermore, the European jet cannot be jointly manufactured by India in any significant capacity and thus fails to further the goals of the Make in India initiative - where the Su-30 is not only jointly manufactured but in the case of many batches is fully built in India and modified to integrate indigenous Indian technologies. While the Su-30 has proven versatile enough to integrate systems from Europe, India and Russia, the Rafale by contrast is restricted solely to European armaments with even U.S. and Indian systems incompatible.

Indian Su-30MKI Fighter Launches BrahMos Cruise Missile


With at least 14 Su-30MKI squadrons already planned, purchasing more of these jets may well not be the best option for the Indian Air Force should it seek to maintain the diversity of its fleet. Nevertheless, the Rafale remains far from an ideal choice, with many alternative options for medium and light fighters far more attractive in terms of performance and cost effectiveness. These include the Russian MiG-35 and American F-35A and F-16E which in the case of the first two boast far superior capabilities to the Rafale at a considerably lower cost. The MiG-35 for its part surpasses the Rafale’s capabilities across the spectrum, integrating comparable sensors with an AESA radar of its own and three dimensional thrust vectoring systems for manoeuvrability unrivalled by other jets in its weight range. The fighter’s compatibility with the active phased array antenna (APAA) guided K-77 air to air missiles and extremely low maintenance requirements further make it attractive, as is Russia’s willingness to transfer technologies, adjust the deign to suit Indian specifications and manufacture the aircraft jointly. While the F-35 has a number of drawbacks including high maintenance and heavy reliance on connectedness to an American centred network - which at timesposes a serious security risk to operators - the fighter’s advanced stealth capabilities and powerful sensors make it a force to be reckoned with and one of the most formidable platforms of its weight range. It is also cheaper and arguably far more cost effective than the Rafale. Modernisation of the indigenous HAL Tejas single engine light fighter design which entered service in 2018, a light AESA radar equipped jet with capabilities in some ways comparable to the American F-16, is another option which could yield perhaps the most cost effective results for the Indian Air Force and the best for its defence sector. Ultimately while options to replace the Rafale are many, acquiring further batches of the extremely costly fighters remains far from the best choice for the Indian Air Force to modernise its fleet's capabilities.

And then you have ACM Modi saying, 'If India had Rafales, Pakistan wouldn't have inflicted so much damage'. !!!

Link to the article ?

Also, Modi never made the statement in blue. He said the results would have been different if we had the Rafale. Nothing about any damages. Don't deliberately misquote.

 

[Windjammer]

Link to the article ?

Also, Modi never made the statement in blue. He said the results would have been different if we had the Rafale. Nothing about any damages. Don't deliberately misquote.

His very words in Hindi were......Agar Rafale hota tu itna nuqsan nai hota.

 

[Gandhi G in da house]

His very words in Hindi were......Agar Rafale hota tu itna nuqsan nai hota.

Agar Rafale hota, to isse bhi nateeja kuch aur hota.

Had Rafale been there things/results could have been different.

Can you provide the link for the OP ?

 

[randomradio]

France's Rafale May Not be the Best Choice for the Indian Air Force
May-21st-2019

Who on earth writes such crap?

India was the first client to show major interest in the Rafale, which had been in French service for almost 15 years with little success at promoting it overseas.

Egypt and Qatar beat us to it though.

While the aircraft integrated an advanced active electronically scanned (AESA) radar, the small size of the radar relative to those fitted on heavier aircraft such as the J-20 or F-15SA limited its performance.

The radar is more sophisticated than the one on the F-35 and has detection and engagement ranges comparable to the F-22.

Although the fighter was marketed as a highly manoeuvrable platform, engine performance was sub standard with French engine technologies appearing to lag several decades behind the United States and Russia with just 75kN of afterburner thrust seriously limited manoeuvrability when fully loaded and contributed to the fighter’s below average speed of Mach 1.8.

It has enough thrust, and is also an 11G fighter design. Rafale can supercruise with its current engine.

The French fighter’s altitude limit was extremely low by the standards of medium weight aircraft at little over 15km, meaning even other medium jets such as the MiG-29 and Eurofighter could fly considerably higher - let alone heavy platforms such the Su-30 and F-15 which were designed to operate at 20km altitudes.

Too much brochure specs.

While supporters of the Rafale acquisition have claimed that the fighter would be the most capable in the Indian inventory, this claim remains highly questionable particularly when the aircraft is compared to the Su-30MKI - which currently forms the bulk fo the Indian fleet with twelve squadrons in service.

So the IAF that operates MKI doesn't know that the Rafale is better or worse than the MKI?

This advanced Russian ‘4+ generation’ air superiority jet is among the most capable platforms of its generation in air to air combat, with its performance specifications exceeding those of the Rafale across the spectrum. Able to reach speeds of Mach 2.25, the Russian jet is 25% faster than the Rafale and can operate at altitudes over 30% higher.

Too much brochure specs.

The fighter further deploys a 40% higher weapons payload

Rafale has 5 heavy points versus 3 on the MKI.

Furthermore, the Rafale’s payload of air to air missiles is extremely limited with the fighter currently compatible only the MICA for longer ranged engagements - an ageing medium range design with an 80km range and limited electronic warfare countermeasures relative to more modern platforms. The Su-30MKI by contrast is compatible with some of the most capable air to air missiles developed, including the 110km range R-77 and 130km range R-27ER for long range engagements and the 400km range K-100 designed to engage heavier targets at extreme ranges. The Rafale is slated to deploy the European Meteor missile with a 300km range, though this has yet to be successfully integrated onto the French airframe and its capabilities remain questionable given European manufacturers' lack of experience with such advanced and long ranged munitions relative to the U.S. and Russia.

The Meteor is fully integrated onto the Rafale and is better than all the missiles named above.

The Su-30MKI is also expected to deploy a new missile in the near future, the R-37M, with a hypersonic speed of Mach 6 and 400km engagement range.

If the MKI is equipped with the K-100, then why is there a need for R-37M? Both missiles were developed for the same program, like the YF-22 and YF-23. The Russians chose R-37, India chose K-100.

The advantage in quality of armaments further extends to the air to ground and anti shipping roles, with nothing the French platform can deploy being remotely compere to the Mach 3 BrahMos cruise missiles deployed by the Su-30MKI. New variants of these missiles are set to field hypersonic capabilities in the near future - with no remotely comparable developments in munitions announced for the Rafale.

The Rafale will be getting the more advanced Brahmos-M. If LCA Mk1A can be equipped with Brahmos-M, so can Rafale. Naturally, whatever weapons are being developed for MKI will become a natural fit for Rafale also, including hypersonic capabilities.

Despite the overwhelming superiority of the Su-30MKI, the Rafale’s cost is over four times as high and the Russian platform.

Obviously not. Apples to apples, the MKI is much more expensive.

Furthermore, the European jet cannot be jointly manufactured by India in any significant capacity

The French are willing to transfer 100% of the airframe and engine production to India. In fact they want to make India an export hub for Rafales and Falcons.

While the Su-30 has proven versatile enough to integrate systems from Europe, India and Russia, the Rafale by contrast is restricted solely to European armaments with even U.S. and Indian systems incompatible.

What crap. Rafale is being integrated with the Indian AAW and HSLD, along with the Israeli SPICE as of today. Naturally Astra, Nirbhay and Brahmos will join the mix over the next few years.

We will have the right to integrate whatever weapons we want.

The Rafale will also be equipped with the Israeli Litening and TARGO HMDS.

Nevertheless, the Rafale remains far from an ideal choice, with many alternative options for medium and light fighters far more attractive in terms of performance and cost effectiveness.

There are none. We actually had a proper tender to verify it. And the same parameters will be used in MMRCA 2.0 as well.

These include the Russian MiG-35 and American F-35A and F-16E which in the case of the first two boast far superior capabilities to the Rafale at a considerably lower cost.

The tender found the American and Russian competitors lacking. As for the F-35A, the Americans do not want to participate in an Indian tender.

The MiG-35 for its part surpasses the Rafale’s capabilities across the spectrum, integrating comparable sensors with an AESA radar of its own and three dimensional thrust vectoring systems for manoeuvrability unrivalled by other jets in its weight range. The fighter’s compatibility with the active phased array antenna (APAA) guided K-77 air to air missiles and extremely low maintenance requirements further make it attractive, as is Russia’s willingness to transfer technologies, adjust the deign to suit Indian specifications and manufacture the aircraft jointly.

Great. If the author's decided, then it shouldn't have any problems in being shortlisted.

While the F-35 has a number of drawbacks including high maintenance and heavy reliance on connectedness to an American centred network - which at timesposes a serious security risk to operators - the fighter’s advanced stealth capabilities and powerful sensors make it a force to be reckoned with and one of the most formidable platforms of its weight range.

If only the author could convince the American govt about participating. But considering the amount of work the author has put into this piece, I find his/her ability to convince the Americans a tad more difficult.

It is also cheaper and arguably far more cost effective than the Rafale.

They should ask the Koreans then. The Koreans found that they could buy 60 Typhoons (52+8) for the price of 40 F-35As. And we found through MMRCA the Rafale to be 25% cheaper than the Typhoon.

Modernisation of the indigenous HAL Tejas single engine light fighter design which entered service in 2018, a light AESA radar equipped jet with capabilities in some ways comparable to the American F-16, is another option which could yield perhaps the most cost effective results for the Indian Air Force and the best for its defence sector.

Sure. But it's not twin-engined or in the same weight class. So the Tejas has no relevance to the topic at hand.

Ultimately while options to replace the Rafale are many, acquiring further batches of the extremely costly fighters remains far from the best choice for the Indian Air Force to modernise its fleet's capabilities.

Unfortunately for you, the IAF is a bit more professional in their assessment.

Even add spares for 5 years and weapons.. it is still too expensive and that is why there's a case against Modi in their SC.

The cost of the jet is public knowledge. The unit price when the deal was signed was $105M.

Everything else includes spares, weapons, infrastructure etc.

Can Pakistan not go for a MiG-35 with Chinese radar, weapons, EW and avionics fit?

Only if you pay for the exercise yourself.

 

[WarKa DaNG]

F 22 is the best choice for iaf

 

[Ultima Thule]

AL-31 series.

J-10 C don't have AL-31 series but WS-10 IPE,only J-10 A, J-10 S (twin seater) and J-10B uses AL-31 series of engine and Chinese has more experiences to develop AESA from all sector of their armed forces like AWACS, Destroyers, Frigates, fighter jets, SAMs radars etc etc, in such a short time of periods as compare to Russia @Armchair

the cost might be lower,

No its much higher than you expected, Look at Phalcon AWACS deal with India @Armchair

The reason I can safely say that a Chinese AESA will be cheaper than a Russian AESA

And how do you know, do have any backup of your claim @Armchair and Integrating Chinese Avionics/AESA to Russian MIG-35 is more complicated and time consuming (hence increase the cost of MIG-35) than you thought because your projected Chinese Avionics/AESA is not specifically designed for MIG-35 @Armchair

 

[ProudPak]

BJP India should buy jf17 and lease Pakistani pilots

 

[NA71]

The ideal JFblk3 would be carrying European AESA (vixen-500e /Raven ES-05/IRST) ... expensive solution but definite punch.

 

[GumNaam]

France's Rafale May Not be the Best Choice for the Indian Air Force
May-21st-2019


The Indian Air Force has a long history of operating European military aircraft, most notably the Mirage 2000 which until the induction of the heavier MiG-29 in 1985 was considered the country’s most capable fighter for air to air combat and was relied on to counter the growing F-16A fleet of neighbouring Pakistan. Soviet and Russian jets came to comprise a greater proportion of the Indian fleet from the 1960s, and these fighters were far better placed to contend with American aircraft sold to neighbouring Pakistan as European platforms tended to lag behind in performance relative to those of the two superpowers. A part of the Indian inventory was nevertheless reserved for British and French jets. Of the Indian Air Force’s thirty four fighter squadrons today, these include three squadrons of Mirage 2000 fighters and five squadrons of Jaguar attack jets - or 26% of Indian squadrons with the remaining being Soviet or Russian designs such as the MiG-27 strike fighter or MiG-29 multirole fighter. In 2015, having gone over thirty years without an import order for non-Russian and non-Soviet fighters, the Indian government signed a highly controversial deal worth €7.8 billion ($8.7 billion) to acquire 36 Dassault Rafale ‘4+ generation’ fighters from France - a platform designed to replace the Mirage 2000 in the French fleet.

Dassault Rafale '4+ Generation' Medium Fighter

India was the first client to show major interest in the Rafale, which had been in French service for almost 15 years with little success at promoting it overseas. At well over $200 million per fighter, the aircraft were far from cost effective even by European standards, with the United States and Russia developing and exporting far more sophisticated and heavier platforms such as the F-15E and Su-35 at a fraction of the cost. In terms of combat capabilities, the Rafale was a medium weight fighter comparable to but more sophisticated than the MiG-29, which was considerably outmatched in its performance by heavier fighters built around specialised air superiority or strike airframes. While the aircraft integrated an advanced active electronically scanned (AESA) radar, the small size of the radar relative to those fitted on heavier aircraft such as the J-20 or F-15SA limited its performance. Although the fighter was marketed as a highly manoeuvrable platform, engine performance was sub standard with French engine technologies appearing to lag several decades behind the United States and Russia with just 75kN of afterburner thrust seriously limited manoeuvrability when fully loaded and contributed to the fighter’s below average speed of Mach 1.8. Lack of thrust vectoring, which had begun to be integrated onto Russian and American jets in the 1990s and 2005 respectively, were also absent on the Rafale which further limited manoeuvrability. The French fighter’s altitude limit was extremely low by the standards of medium weight aircraft at little over 15km, meaning even other medium jets such as the MiG-29 and Eurofighter could fly considerably higher - let alone heavy platforms such the Su-30 and F-15 which were designed to operate at 20km altitudes.

Rafale (left) and Su-30MKI Scale Comparison

The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been repeatedly criticised by opposition for the Rafale deal, with the capabilities provided somewhat limited and the costs of the acquisition considered highly excessive. While supporters of the Rafale acquisition have claimed that the fighter would be the most capable in the Indian inventory, this claim remains highly questionable particularly when the aircraft is compared to the Su-30MKI - which currently forms the bulk fo the Indian fleet with twelve squadrons in service. This advanced Russian ‘4+ generation’ air superiority jet is among the most capable platforms of its generation in air to air combat, with its performance specifications exceeding those of the Rafale across the spectrum. Able to reach speeds of Mach 2.25, the Russian jet is 25% faster than the Rafale and can operate at altitudes over 30% higher. The fighter further deploys a 40% higher weapons payload and retains considerably superior manoeuvrability due to two dimensional thrust vectoring. Furthermore, the Rafale’s payload of air to air missiles is extremely limited with the fighter currently compatible only the MICA for longer ranged engagements - an ageing medium range design with an 80km range and limited electronic warfare countermeasures relative to more modern platforms. The Su-30MKI by contrast is compatible with some of the most capable air to air missiles developed, including the 110km range R-77 and 130km range R-27ER for long range engagements and the 400km range K-100 designed to engage heavier targets at extreme ranges. The Rafale is slated to deploy the European Meteor missile with a 300km range, though this has yet to be successfully integrated onto the French airframe and its capabilities remain questionable given European manufacturers' lack of experience with such advanced and long ranged munitions relative to the U.S. and Russia. The Su-30MKI is also expected to deploy a new missile in the near future, the R-37M, with a hypersonic speed of Mach 6 and 400km engagement range. The R-37 is currently deployed by Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors, and is the fastest and longest ranged munition of its kind.

Indian Air Force Su-30MKI


The advantage in quality of armaments further extends to the air to ground and anti shipping roles, with nothing the French platform can deploy being remotely compere to the Mach 3 BrahMos cruise missiles deployed by the Su-30MKI. New variants of these missiles are set to field hypersonic capabilities in the near future - with no remotely comparable developments in munitions announced for the Rafale. Despite the overwhelming superiority of the Su-30MKI, the Rafale’s cost is over four times as high and the Russian platform. Furthermore, the European jet cannot be jointly manufactured by India in any significant capacity and thus fails to further the goals of the Make in India initiative - where the Su-30 is not only jointly manufactured but in the case of many batches is fully built in India and modified to integrate indigenous Indian technologies. While the Su-30 has proven versatile enough to integrate systems from Europe, India and Russia, the Rafale by contrast is restricted solely to European armaments with even U.S. and Indian systems incompatible.

Indian Su-30MKI Fighter Launches BrahMos Cruise Missile


With at least 14 Su-30MKI squadrons already planned, purchasing more of these jets may well not be the best option for the Indian Air Force should it seek to maintain the diversity of its fleet. Nevertheless, the Rafale remains far from an ideal choice, with many alternative options for medium and light fighters far more attractive in terms of performance and cost effectiveness. These include the Russian MiG-35 and American F-35A and F-16E which in the case of the first two boast far superior capabilities to the Rafale at a considerably lower cost. The MiG-35 for its part surpasses the Rafale’s capabilities across the spectrum, integrating comparable sensors with an AESA radar of its own and three dimensional thrust vectoring systems for manoeuvrability unrivalled by other jets in its weight range. The fighter’s compatibility with the active phased array antenna (APAA) guided K-77 air to air missiles and extremely low maintenance requirements further make it attractive, as is Russia’s willingness to transfer technologies, adjust the deign to suit Indian specifications and manufacture the aircraft jointly. While the F-35 has a number of drawbacks including high maintenance and heavy reliance on connectedness to an American centred network - which at timesposes a serious security risk to operators - the fighter’s advanced stealth capabilities and powerful sensors make it a force to be reckoned with and one of the most formidable platforms of its weight range. It is also cheaper and arguably far more cost effective than the Rafale. Modernisation of the indigenous HAL Tejas single engine light fighter design which entered service in 2018, a light AESA radar equipped jet with capabilities in some ways comparable to the American F-16, is another option which could yield perhaps the most cost effective results for the Indian Air Force and the best for its defence sector. Ultimately while options to replace the Rafale are many, acquiring further batches of the extremely costly fighters remains far from the best choice for the Indian Air Force to modernise its fleet's capabilities.

And then you have ACM Modi saying, 'If India had Rafales, Pakistan wouldn't have inflicted so much damage'. !!!

the article is right, rafale is not the right choice for india. the right choice for the india is plainly in site, I mean, come on...
TIE FIGHTERS!!!

 

[Imran Khan]

Migs r not cheap ... life cycle cost is very high

migs are scrap