The LCA’s story sounds already too much like the story of the Lavi.
An advice from me to India – who cares if the LCA will be in service in 10 years from now? who cares if it will in service at all?
The main point of this project is the benefits in the longer term. More than a fighter plane, I see the LCA as a testbed for the MCA. Make all the mistakes you can now, learn for later.
When we cancelled the Lavi for just going a bit too costly, we suffered, and still suffer, a huge technological and economical damage. We were only smart enough to preserve the Lavi’s technology to be sold in other upgrade projects we are doing, and to further develop that technology. Although not the best case scenario, the sole development of the plane and its system helped us even without bringing the plane itself to service.
Still, I would recommend India to equip its future LCA fleet with the Kaveri engine. That way no country could press on you in the project, and one day India could finally become a high tech Asian power.
Don’t let the cynics fool you – a fighter plane project, especially for a country with little experience in the field, can take well over a decade, and usually it does.
Israel for example could have extended the Lavi’s development for another five years and save the project, but in hindsight, the time scale that was demanded for the project was crazy – about ten years of development. The Lavi’s counterparts, the Eurofighter and the Rafale, started in the same years but started entering service only in the recent couple of years.
What India should learn from Israel’s experience is to give a break to its industry. It might take some more time, but continuing the project will turn out in the future to be one of India’s smartest decisions ever.
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