Tejas was massively delayed due to US sanctions and then got back on track after they were lifted. Does that in itself not point out the obvious here?

The obvious lessons from the Pokhran II sanctions are “don’t trust the US” (or nations allied too closely to them e.g. UK) and “build your own stuff.”

Ergo Tejas, PAK FA, and Rafale.

(Of course if you think the Pokhran II tests were reckless sabre-rattling then the lesson is “don’t elect the BJP”.)

Technologically, there’s only a (limited) incremental difference between the Gripen E and its fellow Eurocanards.

I meant the broader expertise in fields of strategic interest that could be leveraged in future projects. Sweden is an amazing country for its size, but it can’t really compete with US, Russia, or even France in this respect. Case in point: Sweden doesn’t even have its own turbofans.

That may have been the sentiment in 2007. But the sheer scale of purchases from the US since, suggests the fear of sanctions has evaporated. Between the C-130J, AH-64E, C-17, the decidedly high-end P-8I as well as lower end items like the M777, F404, F414, LM2500, F125, CBU-105, etc, the US has overtaken Russia and Israel as India’s largest defence supplier, sending a very positive message to Washington.

But if you look at the nature of these deals, they are all small and/or off-the-shelf purchases, which is very different proposition from MMRCA. The closest thing to a ‘strategic’ acquisition there is the P-8s, and even those will be sharing MPA duties with the Il-38s for a decade or more to come.

On the American side we know that there are concerns regarding technology transfer to India — India being much friendlier with Russia and Iran than Washington would like — and that the P-8s are downgraded export models. The Bush administration courted India heavily in what was probably one of the few intelligent actions of that administration, but it does not seem that the Obama administration has pursued the relationship with the same vigour, and in the absence of such pressure from above, there are a number of roadblocks — or at least speedbumps — in the way of substantive Indo-US cooperation, some of which have manifested in the implementation of the landmark 2005 US-Indo agreement.

There will continue to be question marks over the US-Indo relationship until another project of strategic import crops up. If the US can muscle in on India’s future carrier plans by offering design assistance, EMALS, and F-35, that would certainly demonstrate a strength and tenor to the relationship that a couple dozen Apaches stripped of sensitive communications gear does not.

Gripen E would probably be cheaper in the long run, but MiG-35 would avoid the problem of stepping on Tejas’ toes, benefit from some commonality and experience with IAF’s MLU’d MiG-29s and IN’s MiG-29Ks, and probably fare better in terms of weapons integration also.

Unfortunately the MMRCA exercise was structured in a way where cost did not enter the picture until the field had been reduced to the EF & Rafale.

Deliberately so, I suspect. India knew what it wanted and structured the process to produce the result that was obtained.

Had the Gripen E been included in the down-select the IAF may already have been on its way to receiving deliveries by now.

Not likely; and in any case Gripen steps on the toes of Tejas. Back in the darker days of the program that wouldn’t have been a problem, or even an advantage — Gripen E as a fallback if LCA couldn’t make it. But things are different now — indeed Tejas was out of the woods by the time the down-select was made. Ergo, no Gripen.

On the flip-side, the MoD could double down on the LCA program. They’ve spent just a billion or so on it. Plus $500M for the Mk2 & naval variant IIRC. Increase that budget, increase the production rate, spring for more AWACS & refuelers and it’ll get the job done (for a lower cost) while reducing the hassle of maintaining yet another distinct aircraft type.

Or they could just conclude the MMRCA arrangement, which, fanciful speculations aside, is what is going to happen.

These are “re-worked” planes that came back from the factory. The deliveries @ the begging of the year were 2013 leftovers. If we take out stragglers, the total number of new birds for this year realistically is 12, same as last.

Total number of Su-35s I assume, i.e. not including Su-34, Su-30SM?

The USA has developed and put into service almost half a dozen airborne AESA radars on various aircraft – and Russia how many?
What does this tell us about the AESA radar on the Sukhoi T-50?

Umm, nobody (except perhaps JSR) is suggesting that other nations can’t match Russia in ramjet AAM development. The point was that suspending this particular program is unlikely to have long-term ramifications given Russia’s ongoing experience with the underlying technologies.

So the Meateater (Meteor) will have the show to itself.

China is working on ramjet AAMs also.

Russia and China to Cooperate on New Airliner, Helicopter

This article is interesting as it suggests the joint Sino-Russian helicopter will be a further development of Mi-26.