Do you have any valid links to back this up? As far as I can see, all three branches of Armed forces are at the same level of indegenisation.
I think Navy has a better PR to get away with the imports it is having.
Well, its not a straight forward answer, I remember reading some analysis on this a couple of years back which I'll try to dig up. Some of its by the very nature of requirements, others might be maturity in Indian R&D and production, while the rest maybe individual preference for Indian vs external material.
The support for LCA by the navy compared to the IAF would be an obvious point. The army itself has had a lot of trouble inducting Indian made things from rifles to tanks etc.
Optics plays a big role though. We are building SSBN and Aircraft Carriers, little compares in the army or air force to that.
I would have taken such news seriously if;
- They hadn't mentioned Su-35. I don't think Pakis want, need or can afford Su-35. PAF has repeatedly shied away from twin engine fighters and will continue to do so with J-31 as a possible exception. Their defence relies on the higher sortie generation against larger IAF.
- Why Russia and why not China?
- Russia has consistently repeated that Pak will not be provided with offensive weapons.
- With Russian economy down the drain, can they really afford to alienate India and push it towards US?
Fun times ahead if these reports are to be believed.
Its not as if Russia does not have significant leverage on us. Who else is going to lease us a couple of nuke subs for instance? I am sure they have also helped us out a lot in other critical areas such as long range missiles, cryo-engines etc.
If we are confident we can do without or with ever decreasing Russian technical support, we should frankly move on as Russia is a going to be in a world of pain for the foreseeable future and it does not help us to be tied down with them.