MWF powered by a bigger motor makes more sense. Basically they are planning to make aircraft akin to Boeing P.3 Buffalo when their main rivalry is building a force of Focke Wulf Fw 190.

What is the engine in development, F424? M88-4? Kaveri 2.0? EJ220?

They need to quit dicking around with pie in the sky and use COTS now. Play time comes much later.

Teej-

I don’t think you gave a fair comparison between Gripen and Tejas. Obvious stuff like pylon count substituting an argument concerning range is ignoring the obvious. Tejas is a lightweight fighter relabeled as a medium. Its internal fuel tank squarely leaves it in the light category, regardless of carrying external fuel. The drag index will eat up any significant fuel gains underwing due to their choices for being an overly short design like you would expect out of a light fighter. And marketing garbage doesn’t alter takeoff distance while carrying its big tanks creates a dangerous combination of overweight, underpowered, and too little control surface while operating from its intended deployment points with a significant bomb load. Tejas will be kept light or suffer in obvious ways. Then you compare the RWR and SPJ between the two as equal. Thales and Saab subcontractors have Cadillac systems compared to secondhand export models being proposed for Tejas. It reminds me of the bogus invulnerability of Bison with their internal SPJ in international exercises. Elderly F-16 or unproven JF-17 technology is being claimed to have done one in. (I still believe it was a SAM, but none of us will get the truth for decades.) The Tejas will get a slightly better generation compared to the Bison’s, but its doubtful it will perform any better. You brought up the small ground footprint and its mobility as being some sort of standard. Not at all. And currently Tejas has a slim if not non-existent supply chain that has ti be established. Not comparable at all.

Tejas is a nice design for the 1990s. I’d of thought by now they could have created something new for Tejas Mk2 beyond triplanes. By now I expected something evolved/advanced with at a minimum incremental improvements in RCS.

They do not have fuel logistics to sustain that many active units unless they scale down to a majority J-10 fleet.

The PLAAF has overstretched its food chain since its origins. Old habits die hard.

I cannot help but think L-15/JL-10 will be the lead in for J-20. Both have the look of being modern.

J-10 really hits me as being a short timer. They needed numbers to retire J-8II, but its role is quickly reaching end of life as China has to pare down programs to fit their current economy.