There's a huge difference between qatari rafales and Indian rafales,matters nothing,everything is taken on to account while making a deal
@Nilgiri
Either extreme is faulty that suddenly some platform is made "garbage" or another version of it is fully "insular".
Combat master has made a good post earlier....things factor in and counter-factor in w.r.t wielder and opponent when opponent gets closer look at stuff than he otherwise would have.
It is non-ideal (and certain practical envelope USP is eroded of the platform for the wielder compared to before as I have described already)....but there is no real significant degradation in overall power level given the threat still manifests.
The opponent still has to project and account for huge amount of other variables too.
It is not like suddenly F-16s PAF has are all made garbage because India has worked at depth with Israel (especially on the detailed IP tech realm even), US and Singapore on the matter.
Geopolitically India has moved significantly from situation earlier in cold war where more insularity existed.
Any case, it (an AF) is very much a team, big deal of networking and own specific exercise regimens plays huge role in how an asset optimises within an AF compared to another AF situation.
India will develop its own set of ace up sleeve with Rafale (even if they are carbon copy with Qatari one which they are not) that cannot be gleamed simply by having access to some a/c flight+exercise time. The divergence in specific optimisations add to this on top.
It is why the MKI is not figured out (in some power level undermining way) by PAF simply by having access to Chinese flankers in exercises.
Think of what the other assets are in IAF for example that Qatar or opponent do not have. It is somewhat like how individual sportsperson will not be quite same if simply switched from one team (he has trained, grown experience and integrated far more with) to another with a very different setting.
AF's (and militaries more broadly) will always try to account for all of this too (aggressor training and wargaming), but there is limit to degree of how much can be modelled and figured out.
Resources to counter it (with actual asset + power level of own) at some significant way is another question altogether past that. This has been noticeably lacking with our opponent (mostly by their own hand) and the divide will only grow.