Sir, first of all, apologies for interrupting your discussion. I hope you won't take offense.
I have been of the opinion that Thunder's success is based on the knowledge PAF acquired from the world class platform F-16. Now that F-16 is out of the question, we need another top of the line platform to provide PAF the insight into the bleeding edge of technology available in the world. I am talking about the level of detail where you understand the flight path of cutting edge BVRs and the range limitations of latest radars. This is information that you cannot obtain simply with exercises.
In this background, the latest article by
@Bilal Khan (Quwa) says PAF considers Thunder to be its qualitative driver. I take exception, based on the maturity level of aviation industry in Pakistan. We simply aren't at the cutting edge of technology. With this approach, we risk painting ourselves into a corner.
I support acquisition of modern platforms in very limited numbers to understand them and prepare our pilots for them. But our major investment must go into indigenous platforms to apply the lessons learnt.