you will see. 😉 not as part of first batch though.
AURA is a different kettle of fish altogether, a jet powered UCAV.

This could be just routine news being sensationalized or it could also indicate a sense of urgency on the part of the PAF to get assets usable against the US / NATO, in case of a future confrontation. (F-16s won’t work against them)

sorry, but

Btw, the Russian AAMs will be replaced in future, R27 and 77 mainly by Astra, no matter if Mig 29 SMT/K, Su 30 MKI, or LCA Tejas. Derby is now on integration into Tejas as an stop gap and because IN NLCAs will use them as well.

IN LCA’s or SHARs ? LCA is getting derby only because IN already uses it on the SHARs.

love the bears, majestic beast-birds, like the nazgul’s ride in LOTR.

Not sure if anybody picked up on this but the Indian Navy has indefinitely postponed any further Aircraft Carriers after the current two. So it looks like the Indian Navy will stick with its Stobar Mig-29K’s for some time. The possible Naval aspect of MMRCA has probably now disappeared

pretty much confirms what I have been saying here for sometime now, viz.

a) buying JSF or any of the MRCA contenders as IN fighters in the near future is highly unlikely since it is already committed for 95 fighters (45 mig29k + 50 NLCA) more than enough to cover the fleet needs of vik and IAC-1.

b) IN has also shown interest in the AMCA and as the most visionary service of Indian armed forces it will prefer to opt for a 5gen fighter as its future carrier fighter. since the situation with PAKFA and AMCA is still ambiguous, it would therefore prefer to hold its bets until the situation clears itself. any future carrier would have to be designed around the aircraft chosen and clearly it is impossible to do that now

c) lastly and no less important is the need to absorb the lessons learned in building IAC-1 and refine the design for IAC-2.

twinblade, it doesn’t have service ceiling as high as LCH, apaches had problems simply crossing the mountains in afg (with no load), which are hills compared to where IA and IAF operate. the heavy attack helo’s are meant for the plains, they are simply doing a 1 to 1 replacement of the hinds.