You know when i said "considering Americans don't back out on ToT". I was putting very mildly. Anyway the way i see it there is a Catch 22 situation. I tell why:
1. IAF is yet to start behaving like Navy on long term planning wrt. to indigenisation.
2. Government has very serious requirement to meet in form of turbofan tech for AMCA. AMCA today is very much stalled because of lack of clarity. Right now i can't see from where we can even get it? And if at all IAF will agree to F-414 for AMCA is something baffles me.
3. Government needs to make geo-political alliances to garner support on our own fight on terror. And we know no one will come to our side unless we give them something to bite on.
I really don't see how government could manage all these conflicting situation without pressing thumb on at least one.
http://idrw.org/india-can-finally-drop-act-of-limited-range-of-brahmos/#more-113820
This article stating that brahmos will have a range of 600 Km alone makes the F-16, gripen buy redundant for strike purpose!!!
But the circus is getting bigger,
http://idrw.org/boeing-says-iaf-inq...oming-soon-hopes-build-200-india/#more-113888
Both F-16, F-18 are decades old & a generation behind RSS fly by wire tejas, (with low RCS) in aerodynamic concept.
Gripen NG(which is IAF favourite) is just tejas mk2 & nothing else.
Buying N reactors, transport planes from US alone will be more than enough for the "apology" of strategic ties US is offering to us.
Now Do you think, Rusiians will accede to our request of mating existing IAF weapons(largely of russian origin ) with F-16 or F-18? NEVER.
So we now have to buy ubber costly western weapons with these foreign fighters!!!
So I see no point in IAF stalling the second production line for tejas & importing four , five decades old, refurbished fighters with many times larger RCS & IR signatures than tejas
Tejas scores in low RCS & low IR & is a perfect fit for the forward airfields along indian western borders from where Mig-21s were operating for 5 decades.
US needs higher ranges to hit farther targets in missions abroad,
All targets for IAF sit right across the border most within tejas range.
We have Su-30 MKI, rafale for deep strike, SO why we ned another single engine or double engined plane is a mystery to me,
Especially when we can have 1000 plus Brahmos, What roles do these fighters meet? for the prohibitive cost penalty they impose on IAF?
Also IAF needs at least 400 fighters for air defence over indian skies all the time, where tejas range is more than enough.
So there is a need & there is a product , but instead of backing it with full force, we see something else.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/printer-friendly-version?article_id=112122602012_1
We dont know whether the IAF or Govt have any interest in sanctioning the 500 cr neded for the development of Kaveri for AURA, or whether IAF has changed the specs of AURA to disqualify kaveri from that project too!!!
Unlike some who says that Kaveri is dead, the above link serves the indispensability of kaveri for india's future. AURA, Tejas, Mig-29 needs them.
IAF has already shot down the proposal to arm 5th gen stealth AMCA with two 80 Kn kaveri engine(stating that they want 1.5 mach super cruise speed which is not possible with kaveri, & efusing to toe the tranche-1, tranche-2 line for AMCA as well), while blithely spending billions on non stealth, 4.5th gen rafale, whose engines have just 75 Kn thrust each!!!
http://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/tenders/viewTender.jsp?paramMicro=11203
EOI for Manufacturing & Assembly of 80 Kn thrust engines dated 15.06.2015 13:56:40
Tender no-GTRE/KPG/PMO/EOI-01/2015