Retiring the Mig-23BN

[tigershark]

How do you retired a front line aircraft without having a replacement?  My favorite parts of the below article are:

The MiG-23s are likely to be replaced by the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft for which India had floated global tenders in August last year.

Last August! is the writer crazy this has been a nine year on going never ending usefulness.  The politicians in my country could make a decision faster of the course the wrong one but still faster. (smile face)   

The new aircraft are likely to join the fleet sometime around 2013.

How can you give a "likely starting date" for an aircraft not even chosen yet?  By 2013 advance UAV will be clearing the way for any pilot equipped aircraft anyway, how do they write this stuff. 

MiG 23BN fighters take last bow at Air Force parade
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/68253A9A61382EF7652574DC003F7295?OpenDocument

[Webmaster]

1) that was the official launch of the tender, the question is why hasn't there been a selection yet?

2) it's the requirement for start of delivery under the tender... but the submission date was postponed, and now the decision date has been postponed as well (?), so you could add another year to that date... not sure if he already did that.

I say 2016 for US/Swedish fighters, 2018 for other European fighters, 2020 for Russian fighters?