Russians used to be king in the Indian defence market, until they succumbed to the lure of the Chinese and their technology was becoming dated. After it became clear the Chinese were knocking off MiGs and Sukhois for Pakistan and Russia could do absolutely nothing about it, India backed away from Moscow's vulnerabilities. Israel, the US, France all have a big presence on the Indian horizon now. The Americans, according to most technical assessments, pitched two not-so-new aircraft for India. At a rarefied level, the differences between the world's top-line aircraft is minimal, so what tilts the balance are extraneous factors.
