We need to break the bank to get to parity with Chinese air power or forever hope that there won't be war. Can India afford that is the question. And is there political will to do that? China already has close to 300 J-20 stealth fighters built per some accounts. Another 50 Rafales for the IAF won't do a thing. We can keep arguing about the merits of importing jets vs making them at home - only one thing is clear - we need fighters now and the numbers needed are staggering and the choices aren't easy at all. To deal with the immediate threat India needs ... 1. 100 Su-57 fighters - but only assuming they work as advertised. 2. Supplemented by 100 AMCA fighters, development of which needs to be a national priority. We need at least 100 AMCA jets, with the first iterations being at an acceptable technology threshold from the start. 2. 200 Rafales for the IAF alone - to replace all MiGs, Mirage 2000s, Jaguars. Your primary heavy-hitter. 3. Stabilise the Su-30 fleet at 80 highly upgraded fighters- used primarily as a platform for heavy standoff weapons, as mini AWACS and standoff jammers. 4. Invest and speed up manufacture of Tejas Mk2 to bring up the low-end of our air power spectrum - 50-60 fighters.

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