With Brahmos around and hypersonic version of it soon plus the Poseidons & dedicated naval satellites, IN can take some time to make any adjustments that allows it to learn new tech as they go for additional carriers. Though, Boeing has already mentioned that the Super Hornet fits in the current lift and requires no mods. Boeing also has a massive infrastructure in India, and the deal offsets can be used by Boeing to do more Make in India. Interop with Poseidons and Raytheon, Honeywell radars is also good. So, Boeing has several advantages over Rafales. The only thing is will IN put all its eggs in American tech? This is where French+Israeli+Indian tech works as an alternate for India. However, unlike the US, French and Israel cannot be relied upon to not share tech with PLA. But US can be. So there are so many things to look at for the decision makers.
It is not an easy choice. The good news is both platforms are the top of the pole and India has good interop with both.
But the US has an edge for sure as they are the dominant operator of carrier tech and there are deals for ToT of tech like Emals. So, I have a good feeling that IN will 99% go for F/A18 SH and probably order another 36 Rafael from the French for the IAF to keep them in good humor. This strategy is also the correct one. IAF operates Rafales for its agile roles and the tech it needs for complete air dominance over Pakistan. But, IN operates American gear, as the naval theater is where India must have maximum interop with US Navy to gain total dominance over the PLAN in the Indian Ocean. IN has zero threat from Pak Navy. So they are not going to acquire tech keeping Pakistan in mind. But for the air force they will acquire tech keeping Pak in mind and less with PLA in mind as air wars are not feasible over the Himalayas and the Predator drones are more than enough for border aerial management.
Now, that is a very controversial statement 'but for the airforce they will acquire tech keeping Pak in mind and less with PLAAF in mind'
To the contrary I believe air power will play a key role in deciding the outcome of an Sino - Indian conflict across the Himalayas. The altitude factor cannot be an limiting factor as modern combat aircraft can easily fly 50,000 to 60,000 feet above sea level.
IIn fact many military experts had said that it was an historic blunder not to use air power in 1962.The course of the conflict would have been different had the IAF been allowed to bomb the PLA. I believe we had more modern aircraft than the PLAAF at that time.
The Pakistan Air Force is crippled as far as operating and acquiring new, modern Western origin planes are concerned. Their fortunes are now hopelessly tied to the Chinese. An indisputable fact is that our Rafale is better than the JF17(by a wide margin) and the J10C. Only the J20 can muddy the waters. Again China would be a fool to supply its best combat aircraft to Islamabad. Because the CIA and the Pentagon undoubtedly have many agents in the Pak military. The technology of the J20 will be leaked to the Americans. Just as the F16 technologies were leaked to the Chinese(this is highly likely).
The situation can change if Washington supplies the latest versions of the F16 to Islamabad. That would be an very, very unfriendly act and probably would change the way New Delhi views the US. Another unlikely scenario is if the PAF acquires modern European combat aircraft like the Typhoon.
We have to keep in mind another reality. Pakistan is an relatively narrow strip of territory. How far is the farthest point in Pakistan from the Indian border. Probably about 600 km?.Most targets in Pakistan can be hit easily by our Brahmos missiles which will reach 800 km range capability soon. Once our transformed Nirbhay missile (ITCM) is perfected and mass produced, it will be a much cheaper alternative.
We don't need the Air Force to even engage massively in the bombing of Pakistan. Other options are available.
On the other hand an vital war objective in any large war against China would be the early destruction of supply lines coming from mainland China. The rail and road lines. And all airfields need to be destroyed. We need to prevent resupply and replenishment of PLA forces in both Tibet and Xinjiang. Though missiles can be used to take out the targets it may not be accurate bombing because the targets may be more than a 1000km from the border.Also presently we lack long range land attack cruise missiles( > 1000 km range) in sufficient numbers.I believe the use of the Air Force will be unavoidable.
In fact we should establish air superiority over the PLAAF by creating an technological edge. Not an very difficult task. Chinese aerospace technology is still behind American and European aerospace technology levels . So till our indigenous aerospace technology matures and equals the standards of the developed countries, some amount of imports seem unavoidable.