I think you're missing my original point. My apologies if I was less than clear. I never suggested that the PAK-FA was going to be all that the fanboys have predicted it would be. I merely suggested that:
a) The Russians have a historical tendency to keep their cards close to their chest; and
b) The Russians have additional reasons (like wanting to see the Raptor out of production) that would likewise lead them to avoid giving the USAF additional ammunition on Capital Hill.
As you may have noticed, the Russian salesmen have been pushing the MiG-35 and Su-35 programs at every venue they can find - aircraft that are hardly production ready. At the same time, however, they have little to show in the way of the PAK-FA - probably because they've been told to button it. If they didn't need India's buy-in (at least in name) to launch the project, the PAK-FA would probably have been a black program altogether. The reality however, is that given the state of the Russian economy they badly need foreign sales (or at least the prospect of foreign sales) to keep the PAK-FA funded and moving along (however slow that progress might be).
I said 2 years ago that the Indians were moving towards western gear - this was based on discussions with an Indian Mil Liaison Officer in Australia.
I would agree with this assessment. The War on Terrorism will probably continue to propel India in that direction. I also suspect - once the PAK-FA finally rolls out - that it will not be everything that the Indian Air Force had been told it was. For the time being, however, the Indian Air Force remains notionally interested in what the Russians have promised. We'll see if they remain that way when they see what the PAK-FA really has to offer.
I disagree, as I'm responding to an original post which was clearly a trolling comment and demonstrated no comprehension of what platform history exists.
Please be careful of what you assume. I know more of that "platform history" than I care to share. And just because I do not deign to visit this particular forum on a daily basis doesn't mean that I'm some blind fan of the PAK-FA.
If you want my opinion on what the PAK-FA
will be when it finally rolls out, please ask for it - don't assume. And if I seem somewhat critical of the striptease that I see US contractors performing, I am doing so as a concerned citizen, not an outside critic.