Dunno why you are so hung up on this subject. HAL was always supposed to get an order for 70 aircraft. They are now fighting about who will get the order for the remaining 38.
According to me, Pilatus will deliver faster than HAL will. It's that simple.
And with regards to the article, the arguments are pretty dumb. Like this statement:
Today, the HTT-40 is not just flying, but outperforming the Pilatus, as well as the IAF’s performance criteria, called the Preliminary Air Staff Requirements (PSQRs).
It was always expected to outperform most existing trainers, not just the PC-7. It's like comparing AMCA with Rafale. But the question here isn't about capability, but time. We can have the 38 PC-7 now when it's actually needed, whereas the HTT-40 is still quite sometime away, and the delivery schedule is also slow, 2 in the first year, 8 in the second and 10 after that.
And that argument for an RFP is the dumbest I've ever heard. The IAF has already been twice bitten by ordering something before it was even developed, the LCA. So the IAF's demand is basic certification before an RFP is released. So this is HAL's call to make, not the IAF's.
It's really simple. If PC-7 is chosen for the 38, then it's an advantage for the IAF and private aerospace. If HTT-40 is chosen, it's an advantage for the HAL alone. It's because the IAF lacks trainers, and can't wait for HAL to take their own sweet time to deliver. The 38 will take 5-6 years to deliver after certification, followed by another 7 years to deliver the remaining 70. It's ridiculous to think IAF has to wait well past 2030 to get all their basic trainers. Otoh, Pilatus can deliver their share of 38 in 3 years, while HAL can simultaneously fulfill their order of 70 in parallel, by 2027-28 or so. This way, we will have the basic training in place to train pilots of all the MRFA, LCA, C-295 etc that will start coming in after 2025. People don't realise how important trainers are since they are not sexy, but our modernisation will fail if we do not get these basic trainers in time. Ever year HTT-40's certification is delayed, the delivery time is also being pushed by a year. So it's 2032-33 now, so you can imagine well enough if we have the planes but not the pilots to fly them.
HTT-40 needs to complete flight testing first, followed by certification, then user tests, then contract negotiations, which on its own could take a year or more. So you can imagine the extent of delays possible before the first 2 aircraft are delivered. So expect full delivery of all 108 HTT-40 only around 2035. Is that ridiculous or what?
But now that PC-7 is mired in corruption, it needs to go, unless the charges are proven false. If the Pilatus was clean, then it's a no-brainer that PC-7 should be supported for the 38. This is simply HAL being selfish and greedy, nothing more. It's not like the IAF has said no to HTT-40 for the 70 aircraft order. This was decided back in 2008-09 or so.
Oh, btw, Pilatus is also expected to create an aerospace ecosystem in India with private players, not just for PC-7, but also for other aircraft from the Pilatus family. So you can understand why HAL is not so gung ho about getting competition and are attempting to stifle it as early as possible.
Pilatus to set up aircraft manufacturing unit in India
GKN Aerospace’s JV in India to manufacture wiring systems for Pilatus PC-24
You exceed specs when you are 10 or 20% better. This is just marginal improvement over specs, which only goes to show that the IAF's specs were realistic enough to be achieved, unlike the previous criticism where people claimed the IAF had asked for impossible specs.