F-16 versus Indian LCA

MOST OF YA'LL SERIOUSLY UNDERESTIMATE THE LETHALITY OF THE LCA. DO NOT FORGET IT IS STILL UNDER DEVELOPEMENT, THE NEXT PROTOTYPE IS BEING WEAPONIZED, 2 MORE ARE BEING DEVELOPED AND WILL FEATURE RADAR ABSORBANT MATERIAL, SUPER CRUISE, MUILTI AXIS THRUST VECTORING NOZZEL FOR THE ENGINE AND A MORE ADVANCED RADAR PROBABLY AN ISRAELI RADAR THAT CAN TRACK A WHOPPING 64 TARGETS. NOT TO FORGET HAL THE CORE DEVELOPER OF THIS AIRCRAFT ALREADY LICENCE MANUFACTURES THE INCREDIBLE SU-30 MKI WHICH IS A 4.5 GENERATION AIRCRAFT WITH EXTREME AGILITY AND TVC, THE MIG-29 AND ENEGINES ETC. OUTSIDE RUSSIA, US, AND A COUPLE OF EUROPEAN NATIONS, INDIA IS THE ONLY NATION WHICH HAS THE KNOW HOW ON MAUFACTURING A 5 TH GEN AIRCRAFT. CHINA IS STILL BEHIND IN TERMS OF THE KNOW HOW. INDIA IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST DEMOCRACY, WITH 1.1 BILLION PEOPLE. EVERYTHING IN SUCH A LARGE COUNTRY TAKES TIME. FROM PLANNING TO ACTUAL PRODUCTION. NOT TO FORGET INDIAN AIRFORCE PILOTS ARE RATED BY MANY TO BE AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD. A FEW YEARS AGO INDIAN MIG-21S AND 23S MADE THE F-15 LOOK RIDICULOUS. JUST THIS FEB AFTER AERO 2007 WE GAVE THE FRENCH WITH THEIR LATEST MIRAGE 2000-5 AND THE RAFAEL SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AND LEFT THEM SHOCKINGLY DISSAPOINTED. REMEMBER ITS ALWAYS THE MAN OR WOMAN BEHIND THE MACHINE THAT CREATES MAGIC. INDIAN PILOTS ARE SO GOOD THAT WE HAVE BEEN INVITED FOR THE FIRST TIME TO AN ALL AMERICAN RED FLAG EXCERCISES NEXT YEAR. THE LCA WHENEVER IT IS FINALLY INDUCTED INTO THE INDIAN AIRFORCE AND THE NAVY WILL BE ON PAR WITH CURRENT TRENDS IN AVIATION, I ASSURE YOU. THE FINAL VERSION WILL BE 4.5 GEN OR MORE..... I SAY THIS BECAUSE ONE CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK OR ITS COVER EVEN BEFORE IT BEEN WRITTEN. IF AN INDIAN PILOT IN AN ANCIENT MIG-21 CAN PROVE TO BE A WORTHY OPPONENT TO MANY WESTERN PILOTS JUST IMAGINE HIM IN A LCA....BESIDES...ITS LIGHT, UNSTABLE AND IS HIGHLY AGILE AT MACH SPEEDS. RECENT INTERVIEWS OF THE TEST PILOTS AIRED ON LOCAL TV HAVE CLAIMED THAT THE LCA IS FAR MORE AGILE THAN THE MIRAGE-2000, ITS AGILITY AND FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS ARE SIMILAR TO THAT OF A SU-30 MKI. I WOULD SAY IN FIVE YEARS ONCE IT IS FINALLY FINISHED AND INTRODUCED TO THE AIRFORCE AND THE NAVY THEY WONT BE DISAPPOINTED. I M PRETTY SURE THE AMERICANS WILL ALSO TRY TO GET THEIRS HANDS ON SOME OF THESE AIRCRAFT BECAUSE THEY WILL BE CHEAPER, AGILE AND LETHAL. BESIDES IF INDIA CHOOSES TO BUY AND LICENSE PRODUCE THE 126 MRCA BLOCK 70 F-16S WITH AESA RADARS , TVC AND OTHER LATEST TOOLS INCLUDING THE WHOLE ARRAY OF AMERICAN WEAPON SYSTEMS LIKE THE AAMRAAM, SIDEWINDER, HARPOONS, HARM, GBU'S, J-DAMS ETC....WE GET BEST OF BOTH WORLDS THE RUSSIANS AND THE AMERICANS....NOW WE KNOW IF THIS HAPPENS INDIA WILL BE THE ONLY COUNTRY WITH RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING SECRETS...IF WE COMBINE THESE ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES. ONE LAST THING IS...IN 15 YEARS INDIA WILL HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAN IN CHINA AND EVENTUALLY OVER THE NEXT 50 YEARS...IF THE WORLD STILL EXISTS...IT BECOMES THE MOST POWERFUL NATION IN THE WORLD....HANDS DOWN....THE WISEST THING FOR ANY SUPER POWER RIGHT NOW WOULD BE TO JOIN WITH INDIA...

MOST OF YA'LL SERIOUSLY UNDERESTIMATE THE LETHALITY OF THE LCA. DO NOT FORGET IT IS STILL UNDER DEVELOPEMENT, THE NEXT PROTOTYPE IS BEING WEAPONIZED, 2 MORE ARE BEING DEVELOPED AND WILL FEATURE RADAR ABSORBANT MATERIAL, SUPER CRUISE, MUILTI AXIS THRUST VECTORING NOZZEL FOR THE ENGINE AND A MORE ADVANCED RADAR PROBABLY AN ISRAELI RADAR THAT CAN TRACK A WHOPPING 64 TARGETS. NOT TO FORGET HAL THE CORE DEVELOPER OF THIS AIRCRAFT ALREADY LICENCE MANUFACTURES THE INCREDIBLE SU-30 MKI WHICH IS A 4.5 GENERATION AIRCRAFT WITH EXTREME AGILITY AND TVC, THE MIG-29 AND ENEGINES ETC. OUTSIDE RUSSIA, US, AND A COUPLE OF EUROPEAN NATIONS, INDIA IS THE ONLY NATION WHICH HAS THE KNOW HOW ON MAUFACTURING A 5 TH GEN AIRCRAFT. CHINA IS STILL BEHIND IN TERMS OF THE KNOW HOW. INDIA IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST DEMOCRACY, WITH 1.1 BILLION PEOPLE. EVERYTHING IN SUCH A LARGE COUNTRY TAKES TIME. FROM PLANNING TO ACTUAL PRODUCTION. NOT TO FORGET INDIAN AIRFORCE PILOTS ARE RATED BY MANY TO BE AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD. A FEW YEARS AGO INDIAN MIG-21S AND 23S MADE THE F-15 LOOK RIDICULOUS. JUST THIS FEB AFTER AERO 2007 WE GAVE THE FRENCH WITH THEIR LATEST MIRAGE 2000-5 AND THE RAFAEL SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AND LEFT THEM SHOCKINGLY DISSAPOINTED. REMEMBER ITS ALWAYS THE MAN OR WOMAN BEHIND THE MACHINE THAT CREATES MAGIC. INDIAN PILOTS ARE SO GOOD THAT WE HAVE BEEN INVITED FOR THE FIRST TIME TO AN ALL AMERICAN RED FLAG EXCERCISES NEXT YEAR. THE LCA WHENEVER IT IS FINALLY INDUCTED INTO THE INDIAN AIRFORCE AND THE NAVY WILL BE ON PAR WITH CURRENT TRENDS IN AVIATION, I ASSURE YOU. THE FINAL VERSION WILL BE 4.5 GEN OR MORE..... I SAY THIS BECAUSE ONE CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK OR ITS COVER EVEN BEFORE IT BEEN WRITTEN. IF AN INDIAN PILOT IN AN ANCIENT MIG-21 CAN PROVE TO BE A WORTHY OPPONENT TO MANY WESTERN PILOTS JUST IMAGINE HIM IN A LCA....BESIDES...ITS LIGHT, UNSTABLE AND IS HIGHLY AGILE AT MACH SPEEDS. RECENT INTERVIEWS OF THE TEST PILOTS AIRED ON LOCAL TV HAVE CLAIMED THAT THE LCA IS FAR MORE AGILE THAN THE MIRAGE-2000, ITS AGILITY AND FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS ARE SIMILAR TO THAT OF A SU-30 MKI. I WOULD SAY IN FIVE YEARS ONCE IT IS FINALLY FINISHED AND INTRODUCED TO THE AIRFORCE AND THE NAVY THEY WONT BE DISAPPOINTED. I M PRETTY SURE THE AMERICANS WILL ALSO TRY TO GET THEIRS HANDS ON SOME OF THESE AIRCRAFT BECAUSE THEY WILL BE CHEAPER, AGILE AND LETHAL. BESIDES IF INDIA CHOOSES TO BUY AND LICENSE PRODUCE THE 126 MRCA BLOCK 70 F-16S WITH AESA RADARS , TVC AND OTHER LATEST TOOLS INCLUDING THE WHOLE ARRAY OF AMERICAN WEAPON SYSTEMS LIKE THE AAMRAAM, SIDEWINDER, HARPOONS, HARM, GBU'S, J-DAMS ETC....WE GET BEST OF BOTH WORLDS THE RUSSIANS AND THE AMERICANS....NOW WE KNOW IF THIS HAPPENS INDIA WILL BE THE ONLY COUNTRY WITH RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING SECRETS...IF WE COMBINE THESE ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES. ONE LAST THING IS...IN 15 YEARS INDIA WILL HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAN IN CHINA AND EVENTUALLY OVER THE NEXT 50 YEARS...IF THE WORLD STILL EXISTS...IT BECOMES THE MOST POWERFUL NATION IN THE WORLD....HANDS DOWN....THE WISEST THING FOR ANY SUPER POWER RIGHT NOW WOULD BE TO JOIN WITH INDIA...

Hey keizer, do u have any evidence for ur post or is it just the usual propoganda.Especially the last 9-10 lines....i dont see anything LCA had to do with it ....

The last ten lines especially about the block 70 being offered to India is true. India still has to decide if it goes in for the f-16. since India already has a 4.5 gen Su-30 MKI, i am pretty sure our air foce will opt either for the mig-35 or mig-29 ovt or the f-16...if india goes in for the falcon...it will be equipped with Aesa or the Israeli Elta radar and since a multi axis thrust vectoring nozzel can be added to the falcon it has a chance of winning the mrca competition. its a $10 billion deal... and offcourse..if we get the f-16, HAL, TATA and many other local companies will manufacture it in India....only the 18 are to be manufactured in the states....we already manufacture the Su-30 Mki under licence....which gives indian scientists the chance to learn how to integrate features such as TVC, more advanced radars etc.. onto the LCA. if india chooses another aircraft over the f-16...it still doesn't matter....we will be showered with Russian technology and will improve our know how on building the MCA. the Mrca deal has everything to do with the development of the LCA and the MCA....gives us the expertise to improve our existing equipment.... besides weaponized testing of the lca hasn't begun yet...we can't compare an f-16 which is proven in battle and an aircraft like the LCA which is still a amazing bird with no claws....we'll see how it fares once it begins weaponized testing...also i live in hyderabad in India where the LCA is tested... friends of mine working for the DRDO and the DRDL had invited me to their lab to analyse some of the videos of the bird in action, in my opinion its performance to be more like that of a x-31 without thrust vectoring........on a recent flight test..the LCA is unarmed being chased by a upgraded mig-27, the mig had a specific mission to get a lock on the LCA at short range and the LCA's mission was simply to get behind the mig. the mig couldn't get a lock on the aircraft... tried for more than 5 mins in vain and then the lca gets behind it...both the aircraft were being flown by test pilots...it seems the LCA is extremely agile at both mach and slow speeds however..its performance is better at mach speeds....in a dogfight this baby they say can easily give a very hard time to all the following aircraft, mig-21, mig-23/27, mirage 2000 and Su-27. these videos have been carefully analysed and so far can only be shown to those with permission. all these are aircraft that have already been tested against the LCA in one on one scenarios. the evidence is available...however only in DRDO and DRDL labs in hyderabad....you will need special permission to tour the lab since most parts of the lab are strictly confidential...but i suggest Indians...to go check out some of the labs open for public...coz...you will suddenly feel different about Indian capabilities.

ps:the f-16 and the LCA both very cool aircraft....however for now the falcon has the upper hand....

LCA is to be 21st century GNAT, not a world beater. In its class I still think the Gripen is better, with unmatched weapons and cockpit avionics and BVR capabilities. And it cant hope to match the F-16, specialy blocks 52+ and 60.

LCA is to be 21st century GNAT, not a world beater. In its class I still think the Gripen is better, with unmatched weapons and cockpit avionics and BVR capabilities. And it cant hope to match the F-16, specialy blocks 52+ and 60.

I concur! Thanks for bringing some sensibility to this thread.

LCA program was started in 1970s and still under working ,indians r still unable to solve out the basic problems and a large portion of indian press is thinking this project as nourshing a white elephant...how ridiculous it looks when they compare it with viper who has been ruling the skies since long and having a record of 0-69 kills in its credit.

i really really think it is unfair to compare LCA and F-16, if have to, i could only this way, LCA is more like toy instead of real fighter, or that way, LCA is a midget and F-16 is a giant, lol.....