When India bombed terror camps inside Pakistan, IAF selected 40 years old fighter Mirage 2000 (not Suckhoi 30MK-I or Mig 29).
Even during Kargil war, Mirage 2000 emerged as the most preferred fighter for IAF. Indian Air Force then wanted to buy additional Mirage 2000s but then the assembly line in France was getting closed in favor of Rafale. So the competition was widened and it became MMRCA competition and Rafale won that fighter bid. Its another thing that MMRCA never materialized.
Indian Air Force just has 28 Squadrons against a sectioned 42 Squadrons after retirement of Mig 27. Even upgraded Mig 21 and Jaguar fighters are going to retire in next few years and decades respectively. We are buying 36 French Rafale, 21 Russian MiG-29, 12 Sukhoi Su-30MKI and 80 odd indigenous Tejas. Tejas is unlikely to be used against China or Pakistan unless its Mark 1a or Mark 2 version is ready for production. So, most likely the Indian fighters number at max will stabilize (if it doesn't go down). On top of that, we are purchasing additional Mig 29s (older frames produced 3 decades back) which will be upgraded. This is just an stop gap arrangement. Mig 29s have proved to be a disappointment for many countries and for India, it has been at best satisfactory. The availability rate of Indian Sukhoi 30 MK-I is very decimal (are 35 to 50%). And on top of that Sukhois are also getting older and it also needs mid-life upgrade.
India has another option to boost its dwindling fighter numbers and that is buy old Mirage 2000s from other countries (like France, Greece etc.) and upgrade it to latest standards. Indian Mirages are getting upgraded in India with help of France. The existing upgrade facility would mean that the upgrades will be relatively cheap and older Mirages will also cost less. So, India can have upgraded Mirage 2000s in almost one fourth or one third price. Obviously the airframes would be older and it can't be compared to a new fighter. But then Indian needs capable fighters very fast till new fifth generation plane is inducted in Air Force. I don't think that first 5th Gen fighter (American or Indian) will be inducted in IAF till 2035 or so. These old but upgraded Mirages can be a stop gap agreement. By that time, even Rafale would be 15 years old fighter.
One Indian Rafale can fight with 4 to 6 Chinese J-11 (Chinese copy of Sukhoi 27) or even J-20. But even if our Rafale kills five J-11, 6th or 7th J-11 will shoot that rafale. Chinese Air Force can overwhelm India with a huge number of fighters. In world war 2, German tanks, fighters, guns, missiles etc. were far superior than American, British & Soviet weapons. But allied number advantage turned the tide of the war. We need more fighters and we will it very fast. As our Tejas program has been a disappointment, India is being forced to buy additional Sukhois and Mig 29 in 2020. Many defense analysts also believe that buying old Mirage 2000s may be an option for IAF to boost its number.
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