Still, probably Indonesia could be seen as a potential customer for the export PAK-FA sometime next decade (to start replacing the first lot of Sukhois imo)

Yeah, I expect Indonesia will pick up some PAK FA by late 2020s.

~100 KF-X and ~50 PAK FAs as the main combat capability, supplemented by ROK T-50s at the low end, should be doable by 2030, easily enough to see off those pesky Australians.

Su-35 is not derivative just like F-18E is not derivative of F-18A.

Su-35 is a Su-27 derivative and F/A-18E/F is an F/A-18 derivative. 😎

China is still working overtime to develop a reliable fifth generation turbofan and now they have to see this. It must be very demoralizing for them.

Not really. If anything, given that we’re looking at far less mature technologies, I expect China will close the hypersonic gap much more rapidly than they’ve managed to do with turbofans. It’s matching technologies and processes that’ve been refined over the course of decades that is a problem for any newcomer, bringing something new to the table resets the clock to a certain extent. Transformational technologies are generally bad news for the established powers because they allow challengers to catch-up and subvert the existing order. For an example, look at China’s rapid development and integration of unmanned systems.

You make it sound like the Su-35S being larger than lets say RAFALE automatically means the Su-35S will be much more expensive to procure?

I am thinking of total lifetime cost of which fuel burn is a major contributor, at least if you plan to fly the aircraft at anything like NATO standards, something which, let us note, many Flanker operators do not.

It is widly known that maintaing a Tanker fleet is uber expensive. You have to service the takers, pay salleries to crews.

Sure, and it’s worth it because it maintains the skillsets and provides the basis for capabilities which can be expanded as necessary. Brazil is like Japan in this respect, fielded capabilities are secondary to potential capabilities and development of strategically significant industries. And this is a perfectly sensible approach when the threat board is close to zero. Much better than marshalling lots of scary Flankers against non-existent threats whilst everything behind the tip of the spear is choked for resources, or alternatively the whole society suffers the burden unnecessarily high military spending.

The fact that they are large aircraft with correspondingly high operating costs is probably more of a negative than positive in Brazil’s case, yes.

I personally have my doubts that Brazil would purchase either the Su-35 or join the PAK-FA Program. If, Brazil is so up-set with the US over the Spying Allegations. That it rejects the Super Hornet. Then she will likely go back to the Rafale or maybe even the Gripen. With the latter being my choice…….

Super Hornet was never competitive from an operational or value-for-money perspective, its only chance was riding on the back of the US charm offensive. It’s that which the NSA revelations disrupted like a cold bucket of water to the face, re-awakening Brazilian politicians to the reality that the United States should not be trusted, that it continues to regard Brazil and indeed the entirety of the Americas as its personal playground, and that entering into such a dependency-inducing arrangement with the United States would be contrary to the national interest.

Of course I said all that in this very thread months before the NSA revelations, but hey, politicians are dumb everywhere, sometimes they need to be hit over the head with a frying pan before they’ll wake up. All credit to Snowden and Greenwald for supplying the necessary kitchen implement.

Gee, I must have missed that war.
Who won?

The Bolsheviks.

Still 200 Stealth Fighter possibly split on two fronts (Pakistan/China) isn’t going to be enough in another decade or two………(IMO)

That’s why there are programs like AMCA and IUSAV. Probably Tejas Mk. 3 too.

In any case, I seriously doubt that the initial FGFA order will be the end of India’s involvement with T-50. There will likely be follow-on orders to replace at least the early MKIs, and in the absence of a true bomber platform India will probably want to sign on for the inevitable strike variant when it rolls around too.