Only because 3000 f35 are being built. If you'd build 3000 eurofighter they will cost half of f35.
We will build 200+ amca only . Maybe 500 in longer run in later batches. Amca will be at least 40-50% more costly then orca.
And that's not it.
Maintenance of stealth jet is more costly as coatings get damaged in every flight. It takes more time to repair so availability is also low.
US sent 3 f35 to Finland for trails. 1 broke down beforehand out of the rest 2 only 1 could perform for evaluation. That is the reality of stealth.
This is why Russian are going slow with production of su57 ! It's too costly to own and operate compared to su35 which itself is maintenance intensive .
And that's why I laugh when people say Pak will get stealth jets soon. Lol.
That's valid. But as I said amca is too costly to compare and orca is not competing with mwf. Mwf will replace mig29k/ jaguar / mirage. While orca and amca both will paralley replace older su30 batches and add new squadrons to fill up numbers.
36 more rafale will come. Rafale is too costly and it's upgraded will be very costly as well. We paid 50 million to upgrade each mirage in 2012 prices. That was more than purchasing cost of mirage !
Now apply similar maths to rafale! We can't afford more than 72. And yet we need more numbers. So there is space for orca. Now IAF can go for more mwf. But orca offers greater range , greater payload and more powerful radar+ew suite. IAF surely be tempted.
3000 F35??? Where,and when,USAF operates around 550 f35s,well short of its order as of current,and the price is down for the current f35s,not the last one to be inducted...in that sense you're indirectly saying that F35 with all the troubles is more successful than the Eurofighter program....
Maintenance and repair,we shouldn't go to that extent as of yet,first let an initial squadron indicted into the force and response from the air force itself,today everything regarding stealth is guessing,last I know stealth material is also used on 41/2 generation aircraft like Rafale,and it's maintenance and availablity is better than the competitive migs... The numbers at which AMCA will be built is still not reached,the program will surely be slow in the initial induction,but the extent to which it is gonna replace the aircrafts can only counted on its performance if exceeds the ASQR.... The reality of stealth is,Americans using stealth since 60s,have retired various other stealth aircraft and operating an stealth fighter from the past 15 years with availability rate equal to our Su30s despite having a fleet of 180s,and now operating over 500 f35s,among the exported one, last year an Israeli f35 destroyed the so called anti stealth low frequency radar of Chinese in the middle East....Russian alternative is naive,Chinese j20 seems to advance more on material and manufacturing than the Russian aircraft...the official backing out of India from any cooperation with Russia on an stealth aircraft is also an indication of what Russians offer on this front....
Su30s wont be retired completely in the 30s,the last of the Su30s have inducted just this year,and the last of the su30swill last post 50s..in 30s only the initial units will go...mig29s and mirage2000snds themselves will last in 30s before being retired in the same decade......ORCA comparison with Mwf is equivalent to the comparison of mirage and Mig29 ,Rafale and gripen E/F,or Rafale and F16s.........
