3 crashes this year, 3 pilots lost. IAF's Jaguars, long retired everywhere else, back in spotlight

The Print

4 days ago

The twin-seat Jaguar went down Wednesday afternoon during what officials described as a routine training sortie near Bhanoda village in Churu district. 'A court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident,' said the IAF in a statement on X.
Sources in the defence and security establishment confirmed the deceased as Squadron Leader Lokendra Singh Sindhu and Flight Lieutenant Rishi Raj Singh, both from the IAF's 5 Tuskers Squadron. Sqn. Ldr. Sindhu hailed from Rohtak in Haryana, while Flt. Lt. Raj was a native of Pali, Rajasthan.
New Delhi: A routine training flight ended in tragedy on Wednesday as two IAF (Indian Air Force) pilots were killed in the crash of a Jaguar IB (twin seat trainer variant) near Churu, Rajasthan. It was the third such accident involving the aging Jaguar fleet this year, reviving questions about the aircraft's continued frontline role.
In April, another Jaguar IB crashed during a night sortie out of Jamnagar, Gujarat. Flt. Lt. Siddharth Yadav, in his twenties and slated to marry, was killed in the crash after choosing to remain with the stricken aircraft, suspected to have suffered a technical malfunction, to steer it away from populated areas. His co-pilot survived after ejecting on Yadav's final instruction. The IAF acknowledged the incident in a statement and also constituted an inquiry into the cause.
That accident followed a March crash involving a Jaguar IS (single-seat variant) during a sortie near Ambala, in which the pilot ejected safely after managing to direct the aircraft away from the civilian zone.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, at least 13 IAF Jaguars have crashed over the past decade. These incidents have reignited long-standing concerns about the viability of the Jaguar fleet, once a cutting-edge platform, now serving well into its fifth decade with the IAF.
How the British-French jet became India's workhorse
The Jaguar was born out of a collaboration between France and the UK in the 1960s, arguably the first fighter programme co-developed by two nations according to Dassault Aviation. Designed to fulfill a common need for an advanced trainer and light strike aircraft, the programme was executed by SEPECAT, a joint venture between Breguet Aviation of France and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
India opted for the Jaguar in the late 1970s amid a sweeping modernisation of its combat aviation fleet. With the retirement of early post-independence types like the de Havilland Vampire and the obsolescence of British Canberras and Hawker Hunters, India sought a fast, low-level, deep-penetration strike aircraft, ideally suited for interdiction and tactical nuclear delivery missions.
The first two Jaguars, an IS and an IB, arrived on loan from the UK in 1979. By 1981, the IAF had inducted its first batch of 40 British-built aircraft.
Under a ToT (transfer of technology) agreement, the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) began licensed assembly of the Jaguar at its Bengaluru facility. Between the early 1980s and 2008, HAL produced over 100 Jaguars, including naval (IM) variants equipped with French and Israeli radars.
In total, India is reported to have inducted over 160 Jaguars across all variants. As of 2024, 115 remain in the inventory, 79 IS, 28 IB and 8 IM variants, according to data from the annual 'Military Balance' published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
India is now the only country still operating the Jaguar, long since retired by its original users, France in 2005 and the UK in 2007, and secondary operators like Oman, Nigeria and Ecuador.
Despite its age, the Jaguar remains a key component of India's offensive airpower. Sources say that six squadrons are still operational and the aircraft is believed to play a role in the country's nuclear deterrent, owing to its proven low-level penetration capabilities and effectiveness in radar-heavy environments.
The aircraft features a high-mounted swept wing, twin 30mm Aden cannons and two Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 811 turbofan engines. It can carry up to 4,500 kg of ordnance across seven hardpoints, including iron bombs, cluster munitions, runway-denial bombs, unguided rockets and short-range air-to-air missiles like the Matra Magic and AIM-9 Sidewinder.
Equipped with Israeli Litening pods, the Jaguar can also deliver precision-guided munitions in night and all-weather conditions.
Also Read: In wake of Jamnagar crash, a look at chequered legacy of IAF's SEPECAT Jaguar
Upgrades, attrition & engine dilemma
From the outset, the Jaguar underwent a continuous series of upgrades to maintain its combat relevance. Its original UK-supplied avionics suite, which included the Ferranti NAVWASS (Navigation and Weapon Aiming Sub-System), an early inertial navigation and attack system, along with its radar and targeting components, was soon outpaced by evolving technology and mission requirements.
In the 1980s, the IAF in collaboration with the DRDO's Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) lab, developed the first major upgrade to the Jaguar's avionics suite, the DARIN I, (Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation).
At the upgradation's core was a modern inertial navigation system (INS), which enabled the aircraft to accurately calculate its position and speed without relying on external inputs such as GPS, an essential requirement for deep-strike missions in contested or GPS-denied environments.
The upgrade also introduced a head-up display (HUD) that projected critical flight and targeting information directly into the pilot's line of sight, reducing the need to look down at cockpit instruments during high-speed manoeuvres.
Tying these components together was the 'MIL-STD-1553' digital data bus, a military-standard avionics backbone that enabled faster, more reliable communication between onboard systems. With DARIN I, the Jaguar transitioned from an analog-era platform into a digitally networked strike aircraft, significantly extending its operational viability.
DARIN II, rolled out in the late 1990s and early 2000s, added GPS-based navigation, Israeli Elbit HUDs, multifunction digital displays and electronic warfare (EW) systems like the Tarang radar warning receivers. With these changes, the aircraft gained limited precision-strike capability, including GPS-guided bombs and night-attack pods.
The most recent upgrade, DARIN III, introduced a leap in combat performance. The retrofit under this upgradation included Elta's (a subsidiary of Israeli Aerospace Industries or the IAI) 'EL/M-2052' AESA radar, a glass cockpit with twin MFDs (multi-function displays), modern autopilot, encrypted datalinks and improved EW systems. The AESA radars offer faster, more reliable tracking and resistance to jamming, while also allowing for integration of beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles (BVRAAMs).
The first DARIN III Jaguar flew in 2017 and about 60 aircraft have now received the upgrade, with two squadrons reportedly still awaiting conversion.
Yet, for all these upgrades, a persistent Achilles' heel remained: the engines. The Adour Mk 804 and Mk 811 engines, though sturdy in their heyday, now suffer from insufficient thrust, especially under India's 'hot and high' operating conditions in desert and mountain bases.
With only 8,430 pounds of thrust per engine, performance during takeoff, climb and low-altitude flight under full load is often marginal. Compounding the problem is the absence of Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), a now-standard digital system that governs engine performance more efficiently and safely. The Jaguars' manual engine controls increase workload and reduce response time during emergencies.
In recent years, flameouts, compressor stalls and oil pressure failures mid-flight have become increasingly frequent, contributing to the aircraft's attrition rate.
Spare parts are also a growing concern with Rolls-Royce having long moved on to newer engine lines, forcing HAL and the IAF to rely on local refurbishments and cannibalised parts.
India has in recent years acquired decommissioned Jaguar airframes and spares from the UK, France and Oman. Last year, the Ministry of Defence had requested for nine retired RAF Jaguars from the UK, not to fly, but to harvest their parts to keep the IAF fleet airworthy.
A plan floated in the 2010s to re-engine the Jaguars with Honeywell's F125IN engine, offering 30 percent more thrust and fuel efficiency, was eventually shelved due to high costs, integration difficulties and questions over the return on investment given the airframe's age.
Why the Jaguar still matters
The IAF plans to begin phasing out its older Jaguar variants between 2028 and 2030, with the upgraded DARIN III jets expected to remain operational until around 2035.
In the interim, multi-role platforms like the Su-30MKI and Rafale have taken over many of the Jaguar's legacy roles, including precision strike and limited nuclear delivery.
Looking ahead, the indigenous Tejas Mk1A and the larger twin-engine Tejas Mk2 are slated to assume more of the Jaguar's strike responsibilities by the mid-2030s. Further into the future, the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), currently under development, is expected to take over high-end strike and deep-penetration missions.
Until these replacements are fully inducted, the Jaguar remains relevant, not just for its operational utility, but because the IAF continues to grapple with a squadron shortfall. With only around 31 active squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42.5, the aging Jaguar fleet continues to fill a critical gap in India's combat airpower.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: 'No Rafale shot down in combat, India lost one to technical malfunction, probe on': Dassault CEO