F-16I Sufa
India will induct the LCA-the government has given an order for 40 & the number could rise to a 80 odd in the next decade or so.Before we compare the LCA with anything,one should remember that it was not designed to be equal to or better to the F-16/Mirage-2000 etc-it was designed with the sole purpose of REPLACING India's Mig-21/23 series.It's payload of 4 tonnes & range of under 1000kms is nowhere near an F/A-18 ,but is miles ahead of a Mig-21.By that logic,the LCA makes a lot of sense given that there are still thousands of Mig-21s flying around the world.Of all the current systems around,one can only take the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen for objective comparison & their specs more or less match.The LCA mind you is still in development & India is working with Israel on it's EW & threat management systems.It's air to air armament will probably be the Israeli Python-5/Derby combo or the Russian AA-11/AA-12.So all in all,if you are talking about a replacement for the Mig-21 or F-5 Tiger,the LCA seems a handy system to have.
PS-The Indian navy is working on a navalised variant of the LCA for it's homebuilt carrier to be ready by 2012.It will have a reinforced undercarriage & slight difference in avionics.