We Already have Su-30Mki in air dominance role along with Mig-29 which we are upgrading to SMT standard.The primary role of Lca is also air defence & air superiority with ground attack being secondary.FGFA will also be a air dominance fighter.Su-30Mki will be upgraded with Irbis-Aesa starting from 2012013.
Right now what we need is A good ground attack fighter with a variety of missiles & Lgb's,Slam etc.Jaguar,mirage & Mig-27 are the ones in IAF which are entrusted with the ground attack role.The GOI is not going for upgrading Mirage-2000 so all the three fighters will be retiring somewhere between 2020 & 2025 except Upgraded Jaguar darin-2 & darin-3[around 50 and Hal is manufacturing 37 Jaguar IM] & Upgraded Mig-27 [40 have been upgraded & plans are to upgrade 40 more] of the 51 mirage-2000 only 12 might be operational beyond 2025[12 were purchased in late 1990's],so we will bw loosing more than half of our ground attack fleet by 2025.Purchasing Typhoon would prove to be a BIG mistake.We need to go for something which is good performer in both roles & forget about US Teens. look what happened to Iran with F-14, Pak suffering in 1990 for spares for F-16 etc.In any case we should avoid being dependable on US regarding Important projects.Typhoon is out due to high cost & inefficient ground attack capability.that leaves out Rafale,Mig-35 & Grippin Ng.Dassault has lost its reputation as a reliable supplier as in case of Mirage-2000 upgrade for which it is asking 41 Million $ per plane that to no engine & airframe replacement.We can purchase more MMRCA or Su-30Mki instad of paying 41 Mil $ per plane.30 % parts of Gripin are of US origin including engine.So the only sensible option left is MIG-35.
But you might want to consider the bigger picture here. From what I have searched, MiG-35 has a great potential of winning and there is hardly nowhere where it loses out. Radar, super-maneuverability, thrust vectoring, good combat radius, good combat loading, familiarity of aircraft type etc. But the only issue dogging the Indian air force would be the recent arm-twisting by Russia.
Considering the entire cold war study and what goes on today, Russia has changed a lot and they cannot be blamed. Sagging economy, blatant corruption, inflation out of control etc, forced Russian leaders to think otherwise in their dealings with rest of the world; arms export being their prime successful industry after oil and gas. This change became more pronounced as India decided to pursue warmer ties with United States and other Western countries.
Worried that it might lose its second-largest client as it had already lost a lot after USSR's dismemberment, Russia stepped up its pressure on India to stop mingling much with West. However, the fault goes towards Indian foreign policy makers. Instead of assuring Moscow and putting their fears to rest, Delhi continues to haggle.
This seems to be off-topic but is the main reason behind recent chill in the Indo-Russian relations. Due to almost painful delays and lethargic work done in many other deals, the Indian military seems to want to move away from Russian equipment yet not want to lose its prime supplier.
Now coming to the competition, buying the MIG-35 is actually a risk for the Indians as their entire air force would be dependent on one country. the Sukhois, MiGs, the future joint stealth fighter, scores of warships, a prime aircraft carrier, naval fighter jets etc is just too much to be put in one basket.
Since this topic has already been discussed about the Transfer of Technology; let us review the situation once again:
1) Mig-35 will make InAF put all its eggs in one basket being too Russia-reliant.
2) F/A-18 seems to be a tempting offer however there are just too many strings attached in US related issues since Washington is known for its bullying and arm-twisting.
3) Eurofighter Typhoon seems to be a bit too expensive according to many members here. But the surprising fact is that Indian government let Typhoon take part meaning that the finances are not a problem for Delhi at the moment and they have a fallback plan for it.
4) Gripen despite its terrific performance has limited payload, combat range and through engine, has a lot of American strings attached to it.
5) The F-16IN is similar to the Superhornet. Besides, Pakistanis have already mastered its capabilities and this would certainly not be a wise purchase by Delhi.
6) This leaves France's Rafale. It might be expensive but economies of scale are likely to bring its unit cost down considering that 126 immediate purchases shall happen while 74 options will certainly be exercised at a later date. It is a multi-role fighter, capable of good aerial and ground attacks, is from a neutral country and due to less customers can be inducted rapidly by the Indians. Recent news reveal that its AESA radar is ready and owing to the past usage of French fighters, Delhi seems to be pleased with their quality and capabilities.
For a country as big as India, one would need a fighter that has:
1) Good speed to cover vast distances
2) Excellent combat load and combat radius
3) Excellent radar and flight systems
4) Excellent ground and aerial attack capabilities
5) Comes with
no strings attached.
6) Has economic operational cost envelope.
From my perspective, Rafale satisfies these requirements. Here in Switzerland, the Swiss government is replacing its fighter fleet as well and considering the size of the country, the new generation Gripen suits us the best. This is not applicable in India's scenario due to aforementioned reasons.