SEPECAT Jaguar

History

The Breguet BR.121; BAE Systems

In 1963, the Royal Air Force were looking for a new supersonic advanced trainer aircraft; a type
that would replace the Gnat and eventually the Hunter in the trainer roles from 1970 onwards. This
would save on the costs of operating two increasingly outdated types and offer more realistic
training for pilots destined for heavier and faster types such as the Lightning and TSR2. Air Staff
Target 362 was drawn up to initiate a study of suitable designs and was issued to the varied
collection of aircraft manufacturers still in existence at the time - Hunting, Folland, English Electric
and the Hawker-Siddeley group. AST 362 suggested that if suitable weapons capability was added,
the aircraft could even carry out a limited counter-insurgency role, but it really was primarily to be a
high performance trainer. Seating would be in tandem, with provision for some aircraft to give up
the rear instructor position and replace it with a navigator position so that navigators could be
trained too. Strict weight limits and impressive supersonic and low level endurance were called for.
However, the sheer cost of existing advanced projects (P.1154, TSR2 and AW.681) and the
confluence of their expected in-service dates meant that the RAF was looking at footing a huge bill
all at once, or delaying the acquisition of the new trainer for some time.

Jaguar production breakdown

Orange = Breguet, yellow = BAC, red = Rolls-Royce
Coincidentally, the Armee de l'Air (French Air Force) were also in need of some new aircraft. In
their case the more pressing need was for an affordable strike aircraft, as the Mirage IIIV (a VTOL
version of the Mirage III, and similar in many ways to the RAF's P.1154 project) was turning out to
be an expensive proposition. They also had a need for a new trainer to replace the increasingly
outdated Magister, and these two requirements merged to become ECAT (Ecole de Combat et
d'Appui Tactique - Tactical Combat Support Trainer). The needs of the RAF and the AdA were, it
seemed, converging nicely just when both countries were finding it difficult to afford continued
military aircraft development.

Jaguar production line at Warton; BAE Systems

British industry responded to AST362 with various propositions, mostly using variable sweep
designs (which the type had no actual need for, but the RAF seemed happy to go along with it as
this would give the companies involved "invaluable technological expertise in this field"!). With the
RAF originally wanting the type in service by 1970, naturally all of the companies claimed their
designs would have ridiculously short gestation periods. By mid 1964 the RAF had realise that their
only serious chance of getting their new trainer would be to team up with the French. French
cooperation was sealed with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on
the production of an aircraft to meet both the AST362 and ECAT needs. However, by mid 1965, the
financial situation in Britain had led to the cancellation of all three of the RAF's new strike and
transport aircraft and suddenly the RAF were left with a project to build a new trainer for types that
no longer existed.
The French had already run a competition to decide on a home-grown type to meet ECAT, and
selected the Breguet BR.121. When the deal to cooperate was signed, Britain had agreed that the
design would continue to be based on the BR.121. The questions of variable sweep (and loss of the
new strike jets) was settled by the creation of another project (AFVG - Anglo-French Variable
Geometry), more or less as a sop to BAC. Breguet would design and build the nose, centre fuselage
and undercarriage of the new trainer; BAC would get the intakes, rear fuselage, wings and tail. Both
companies would run identical production lines, marrying together components from the other to
deliver aircraft to their respective air forces. The powerplant was to be a joint effort too, with Rolls-
Royce and Turbomeca joining together to further develop the Rolls-Royce RB.172, which would be
named Adour (after a French river). A joint Breguet-BAC outfit called SEPECAT (Societe
Europeeene de Production de l'Avion d'Ecole de Combat et d'Appui Tactique) was formed in May
1966. After much discussion and asking for permission from Jaguar Cars, the type was given the
name of Jaguar.
French Jaguar prototypes A.03, E.01 and E.02
(all with short fins and intake splitter plates, A.03 lacking
ventral fins); BAE Systems
The French did not want a top of the line "do everything" jet - TSR2 had shown the folly of that sort
of requirement to anybody who cared to learn the lesson. What they did want was something
lightweight, easy to maintain and rugged. They foresaw three primary aims for the new aircraft -
training (75 airframes) plus tactical nuclear strike in a European war where the larger air bases
could well have been destroyed, and supporting French forces overseas in a lower threat
environment (a further 75 airframes).
The RAF had initially planned on a buy of 150 trainers; however, with both TSR2 and P.1154 gone,
the RAF were looking increasingly hard at their future light strike needs and realising that they now
needed more than just advanced trainers with some secondary counter insurgency capability. The
RAF's strike line-up was at this point intended to consist of American F-111s plus the AFVG for
lighter strike purposes. There was concern that both F-111 and AFVG were high risk projects and
with the French already planning on a strike role for the Jaguar, there was an opportunity to
introduce a serious backup plan for the RAF's future strike needs - the Jaguar.
The RAF's buy was accordingly increased to 200 in 1966, to consist of 110 trainers (rather than
150) and 90 new light strike/tactical support versions. However, these would be much more
sophisticated than the austere strike version the French wanted. The French were not far behind in
upping their order, also to 200 aircraft, this being an addition of 40 of a carrier-based version plus
10 trainers for the naval flyers.
Five major variants were now on the drawing boards - Jaguar A was the French single-seat strike
aircraft; a relatively basic version, with twin 30mm cannon, a twin gyro and doppler-based
nav/attack system comparable to the older Mirage IV and Martel missile capability. Jaguar E was
the French trainer, retaining cannons and hard points but with no nav/attack system or missiles. The
RAF's initial requirement for a Jaguar B trainer was added to with the Jaguar S strike version, and
the Aeronavale wanted the Jaguar M single-seat carrier variant, similar to Jaguar A but with stronger
undercarriage and the addition of a laser rangefinder (which would end up retrofitted to some of
their Jaguar As). The RAF's Jaguar S was to be a much more advanced aircraft than the A, with a
cutting edge nav/attack system of more accuracy and complexity than the French version (and far
less reliability!), moving map display, laser range-finder and marked-target seeker (LRMTS) in the
nose and a wider stores selection. The B would be almost as capable, lacking the laser nose and one
cannon, but retaining much of the capability of the S apart from in-flight refuelling equipment.
Jaguar S prototype XW560; BAE Systems
The RAF's requirement for supersonic performance had already required considerable redesign
effort as the BR.121 was decidedly subsonic; new wings, reshaped fuselage and a higher rear
cockpit were in progress, and engines with reheat would be required too. BAC were also busy
almost completely re-arranging the internal layout so that while there were obvious similarities in
general arrangement, the BR.121 design was soon left behind. The French were not awfully happy
with this state of affairs, viewing the supersonic requirement as requiring a disproportionate amount
of work, but in public at least the two partners presented a unified set of happy smiling faces.
Development was not as smooth as had been hoped, with engine problems in particular slowing the
whole project down. As with the TSR2, the incorporation of a new engine with a new airframe led
to issues and this time there wasn't even a flying testbed to help out. To complicate matters, Breguet
began talks to merge with Dassault in 1967, something that would then come to pass and would do
no good to the programme's export prospects. The first prototype - E.01 - was rolled out in April
1968 and after ground trials it was dismantled and transported to Istres, from where it made its first
flight on 8th September 1968. The engine problems dogged early test flights, with single seat
prototype A.03 demonstrating poor engine performance by landing short of the runway in May
1969 ripping off the nose gear and damaging the nose, and E.01 being lost after an engine fire in
March 1970 (the pilot shut it down, but also shut down the good engine on final approach and
neglected to select manual emergency power thus losing the hydraulically powered flying controls
and leaving him with no choice but to eject). The damage to A.03 and loss of E.01 slowed the
development programme down significantly (and A.03 would be written off after an engine fire in
1972). The first British single seat prototype (S.06, XW560) was flown on 12th October 1969,
going supersonic on its first flight, but would be destroyed on the ground in August 1972 due to an
uncontained engine failure that ruptured a fuel tank. The first British two-seater (B.08, XW566) was
flown on 30th August 1971 - and thankfully survived to a well-earned retirement!
Test flying revealed that a significant number of changes were necessary, and production airframes
would add both ventral fins and an enlarged tail fin to improve stability - this was quite an issue at
the time, and a lateral autostabiliser system had to be added too. Other noticeable changes included
adding perforations to the airbrakes and deleting the intake splitter plates. A lack of structural
rigidity in the fuselage meant that the spine area would bend slightly under load and as this was
where the control runs were, an uncommanded rudder input would result - with roll-yaw coupling,
that meant pulling out of a dive could result in an unexpected roll, made worse when any stores
were loaded under the wings. A compensating arrangement was installed to deal with this as part of
a roll autostabiliser. The first production Jaguar A rolled off the assembly lines in May 1972, seven
years after the project was begun, and the first Jaguars entered service with the AdA in June 1973,
with initial squadrons being assigned primarily to the nuclear strike role. This was demonstrated in
the most obvious possible manner in July 1974 when a Jaguar A dropped an 8 kiloton AN52 tactical
nuclear bomb on the Mururoa Atoll.

Jaguar T.2 of 226 OCU; BAE Systems

In 1970 the RAF finally abandoned the idea of using the Jaguar as a trainer for anything but training
Jaguar pilots, and changed their order to consist of 165 Jaguar S and just 35 trainers, soon after
giving the go-ahead to Hawker-Siddeley to build their HS.1182 project (since named Hawk) to
fulfil the trainer requirement (the French would also go through a similar process, kicking off the
Franco-German Alpha Jet programme to fulfil their training requirements). The RAF's first Jaguar
rolled off the line in 1972, and they entered service in May 1973 with XX111 being delivered to the
Jaguar OCU at RAF Lossiemouth on the 30th of the month. It was, however, to be used for ground
crew training initially and the unit did not start flying until September when further airframes
arrived. The first airframes were also not up to full Jaguar S spec and needed to be retrofitted to
fully match the spec later on.

Jaguar M prototype carrier trials; BAE Systems

On the French side, the Jaguar M - the carrier version - carried out trials from 1969 onwards, but the
Aeronavale weren't too impressed with the speed of engine response when going round from a
failed arrested landing, single engine safety, or roll response at low speeds with the flaps down.
After designing and building an entirely new wing for the M to improve matters, the second set of
carrier trials were cut short when it was found that the engine compressor casings were cracking
under deck landing loads. Dassault then pushed an upgrade of their existing Etendard - the Super
Etendard, claiming it would be cheaper and safer. The single engine safety margin on a jet with just
one engine is of course zero, but nonetheless it looked like a less risky option to the French than
continued development of what appeared to be a rather unsuitable airframe, and they accordingly
cancelled the Jaguar M (which then never had the new wing fitted) and ordered Super Etendards.
Naturally they ended up costing rather more than expected, and numbers had to be cut to
compensate. Brazilian and Argentinian interest in the Jaguar died with the cancellation of Jaguar M.
While the decision to abandon Jaguar M does appear to have been a sound one in retrospect,
Dassault were accused at the time of simply preferring to get 100% of the sales income from selling
their own design instead of selling a half-British aircraft. If that wasn't the case with Jaguar M, it
certainly became the case with other attempts to export the Jaguar. The export version, Jaguar
International, was based on the more sophisticated RAF Jaguar S (GR.1) and BAC carried out much
of the extra work needed; Dassault, for their part, simply tried to scupper their partner's efforts by
offering better deals on the Mirage V or F.1. In the end, useful but fairly small sales were made to
Oman, Ecuador and Nigeria. The big win was with India, which ordered 160 Jaguars, mostly to be
built locally by HAL.

Jaguar GR.1 motorway take-off, April 1975; BAE Systems

Back to September 1974 and the Jaguar OCU became 226 OCU, taking over the number plate from
the former Lightning OCU which had disbanded at Coltishall in June. Over the next few years 54
and 6 Squadron formed up on the new type and RAF Germany also became busy with no fewer
than six squadrons all becoming Jaguar units (replacing Phantoms and Harriers). In the early days,
the RAF's Jaguar was somewhat lacking in capability, suffering from insufficient thrust and an
unreliable navigation and weapon aiming system. It could also be a demanding aircraft to fly, with a
tendency to bite the unwary - or ham-fisted! With a small swept wing, departure from controlled
flight at the edges of the envelope could be sudden and unforgiving. The heavier loads carried on
operational missions further reduced the margins so an audio warner was in place that could be set
to go off at particular critical angles of attack relating to the stores configuration. Pilots ignored it at
their peril and losses in training were not uncommon. The Jaguar made the headlines in April 1975
when BAC demonstrated the use of a motorway as a runway, landing a GR.1 on the (then-nearly
finished) M55, arming it with four bombs and taking off again. In service the type would rarely, if
ever, make use of its rough field capability - the Soviets being kind enough not to lay waste to the
RAF's runways at any point during the Cold War.
The first French Jaguar squadron (EC 1/7 "Provence")
show off their shiny Jaguar As and Es in a line-up
at St Dizier, June 1973; BAE Systems
By 1977, the Armee de l'Air had six Jaguar squadrons, most of which were dedicated to nuclear
strike or battlefield support; two were dedicated to rapid response to support French interests
overseas. The Algerian-backed Polisario forces caused a crisis in Mauritania later that year, with
French nationals killed and kidnapped, and Jaguars were deployed to Senegal as part of the French
military response. December 1977 saw the first use of the Jaguar in combat, attacking Polisario fuel
and ammunition dumps and wreaking havoc with a supply column that was caught out in the open.
French Jaguar operations would continue in this area of the world until the 1991, with the Jaguar
generally performing impressively in a relatively low-threat environment. As the Polisario gained
more modern and effective surface to air missiles, the Jaguar force suffered accordingly and six
were lost during the sporadic conflict. The French also carried out combat operations with their
Jaguars during the civil war in Chad from 1983 to 1987; one was shot down and two lost to non-
combat accidents.

A mixed formation of Jaguar GR.1s from the various

RAF Germany squadrons; BAE Systems
The UK-based trio of 6, 41 and 54 Squadrons at RAF Coltishall were all assigned to NATO's Allied
Commander Europe rapid-reaction force, their primary purpose being to reinforce NATO forces as
necessary in time of war (most likely in Norway and surrounding areas), with 41 Squadron
specialising in recce taskings. The RAF Germany Jaguar squadrons were very much the tip of the
spear, with 14 Squadron forming in 1975 to be followed by 17, 31, 20 and II(AC) Squadrons, all
being active by 1978. These were all part of NATO's 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) and
were expected to wreak havoc among Warsaw Pact ground forces if the Cold War went hot. Many
of these airframes were wired to carry the WE177 tactical nuclear bomb, though II(AC) were
primarily a recce unit. The Jaguar received the first of many upgrades in RAF service from 1981
onwards, with the original NAVWASS (navigation and weapon aiming sub system) replaced by a
far more reliable and accurate inertial navigation system in the GR.1A. Improved Adour 104
engines were also rolled out throughout the fleet. However, as the more capable PANAVIA Tornado
became available in ever greater numbers during the mid to late 1980s, the RAF Germany Jaguar
squadrons were progressively re-equipped with the Tornado, with 20 and 31 Squadrons going in
June and October 1984 respectively, 17 and 14 Squadrons in March and November 1985 and finally
II(AC) Squadron at the end of 1988.

Nigerian Jaguar International NAF-705; BAE Systems

The small Nigerian Jaguar force did not operate for long; despite being the most heavily populated
country in Africa and rich in natural resources including oil, chaotic government with repeated
coups and corruption on a massive scale coupled with sanctions by other nations left the country's
Air Force unable to afford a safe level of operations, or to keep maintenance contracts going. By
early 1990 they had flown their last Jaguar, with some not having undergone inspections since
1986. The 14 (or 16?) surviving airframes have been basically derelict ever since and have long
since passed the point of being flyable without a huge investment. Several attempts have been made
to sell them since, most recently in October 2011 when they were apparently put up for auction. The
level of corruption endemic in the country can hardly make a purchase attempt an attractive
proposition!
Twelve Royal Air Force Jaguars joined their French colleagues in combat during the 1991 Gulf
War, known as Operation Granby to the RAF. Sadly one Jaguar was lost during a training sortie
prior to the war, with Flt Lt Keith Collister killed when his Jaguar hit a ridge during a low level
turn. However, with 617 combat missions and only 7 sorties lost to unserviceability, and no combat
losses, the simplicity and maintainability of the design (and the competence of RAF crews!) was
dramatically proven. Painted in a temporary 'desert pink' scheme, Jaguars and crews from 6, 41 and
54 Squadrons plus 226 OCU all took part in the war, armed with a variety of weapons including
cluster bombs, rocket pods and Sidewinder missiles. With RAF training to this point having been in
low-level operations and operations in the Gulf mostly taking place at medium altitudes, the Jaguar
force not only had to cope with a short-notice change of tactics but also the use of unfamiliar
weapons - Canadian CRV-7 rocket pods and American CBU-87 Rockeye II cluster bombs rather
than the Matra pods and BL755s used at low level. Operations were against a mix of targets
including land forces, fuel dumps, artillery, SAM and SSM sites and naval vessels; some recce
sorties were also flown using both the standard recce pod and also a newer Vinten pod.
French Jaguar A.139 (11-MO) in
desert camouflage; BAE Systems
The French deployed 28 Jaguars during the Gulf War, from a variety of squadrons, yet flew fewer
missions than the RAF Jaguar force - 615 sorties in all, against a similar range of targets. French
weapons were more varied, including Belouga grenade dispensers, AS.30 missiles, iron bombs,
LGBs, rocket launchers and anti-runway rockets. Once again there were no combat losses though
one airframe was hit by a SAM and badly damaged, returning home in dismantled form. The
Jaguar's great rival, the Mirage F.1, was also deployed but saw little use, being relegated to the air
defence of Qatar and recce missions, the latter only being permitted in the last few days of the war
after an initial ban on their use due to the risk of confusion with Iraqi-operated Mirage F.1s! Despite
success in the Gulf, the ending of the Cold War and arrival of the Mirage 2000 was taken by the
French as an opportunity to begin drawing down their Jaguar force, with EC 1/7 and EC 3/7 losing
their nuclear role in September 1991 and EC 4/11 disbanding in June 1992. French Jaguars
continued to be busy, operating over Northern Iraq and also in support of UN operations in the
Balkans (and Rwanda) from 1993 onwards. The drawdown continued, however, and EC 1/11 went
in July 1994, followed by EC 2/11 a year later and EC 3/11 in June 1997. The final French combat
operations were played out in Kosovo in the first half of 1999, and EC 2/7 and 3/7 disbanded in
June 2001. The last French frontline Jaguar squadron was EC 1/7, which continued providing a
detachment to the Balkans until finally withdrawn from the area in 2004. The squadron hung on
until July 1st 2005 before going the way of all the others, bringing an end to French Jaguar
operations.

RAF Jaguar GR.3 XX737 in Operation Telic ARTF light

grey scheme, RAF Coltishall, 19th February 2003; author
The RAF Jaguar force's success in Granby, by contrast, seems to have begun a re-appraisal of the
type within the RAF. With further operations over Northern Iraq (guarding the Kurds) after the war
and then deployment in support of UN operations in the former Yugoslavia, it was clear that the
type deserved to be better equipped than it had been to date. Some of the upgrades received by the
Granby jets were rolled out to further airframes, and by 1994 further upgrades were planned
including the carriage of TIALD laser designator pods (enabling Jags to self-designate when
dropping laser guided bombs) and an improved radar warning receiver. Before these upgrades could
be released to the Jaguar fleet, the type was back in action over the Balkans, attacking tanks and
airfields. Upgraded Jaguars (GR.1Bs) were deployed to the Balkans in early 1995, and acted as
designators for Harrier GR.7s dropping LGBs on Bosnian Serb air defence installations. With
intermittent rotations home with Harriers taking over in between, the Jaguar force provided aircraft
for Balkan operations until mid 1998. Further upgrades occured - to 'Jaguar 96' and '97' (later GR.3
and GR.3A) standard, which added GPS, an improved HUD, hand controller for TIALD, helmet
mounted sight, a new recce pod, datalink, NVG compatibility and finally uprated engines (the
initially troublesome Adour 106). From 1997 onwards Jaguars took part in Operations Warden and
Resinate over Iraq, with the final such deployment returning home in 2003.

30 years of Jaguars flypast,

RAF Coltishall, 19th September 2003; author
The second Gulf War, Operation Telic, was initially to have included Jaguar participation but with
Turkey withdrawing permission for the use of its bases, the intended Jaguar deployment was
cancelled. The last four Jaguars already in Turkey at the time for Op Resinate duties flew home.
September 2003 saw the RAF celebrating 30 years of Jaguar operations in fine style, with 16
Jaguars in diamond formation overflying what had become the true home of the Jaguar - RAF
Coltishall. A year later the extensively upgraded and extremely capable Jaguar force was rewarded
for over a decade of near-constant operations with the news that the type was to be retired early,
with the retirement date set as October 2007.
RAF Jaguar GR.3 XZ112 flown by Flt Lt Jim Luke
Last Jaguar take-off from RAF Coltishall, 3rd April 2006; author
With no plans to base the type's replacement (the Eurofighter Typhoon) at the RAF's only remaining
Jaguar base, this would also mean the closure of RAF Coltishall. The type's draw-down initially
proceeded as planned, with 54 Squadron and 226 OCU/16(R) Squadron disbanding in March 2005,
and 41 Squadron following on in March 2006. By this time the decision had been taken to move the
final RAF Jaguar squadron (6 Squadron) to RAF Coningsby to permit Coltishall to close earlier. 6
Squadron moved to Coningsby at the beginning of April 2006, and fully intended to continue as a
front-line unit until the October 2007 out of service date. However, the MoD disgracefully gave the
Squadron notice on 24th April 2007 that they were to cease operations on the 30th April - just 6
days later. With that little notice 6 Squadron still managed to not only deploy 10 Jaguars to
Lossiemouth the next day (one final visit to the old stomping grounds!), but also put up a formation
of 12 aircraft in a 'Big 6' on the 30th to mark the end of RAF Jaguar operations.

'Spotty Jag' XX119 flown by Wg Cdr John Sullivan

Last RAF Jaguar flight, 2nd July 2007; author
Thankfully some limited flying continued after this date, keeping pilots current while they awaited
transition to Typhoon units and plans were made to deliver the Squadron's airframes to RAF
Cosford (for ground instructional use). The first wave of the Cosford deliveries happened in May,
and at the end of the month the Squadron was to disband. XX725 was given a desert pink scheme in
honour of the RAF's first combat use of the type, and was parked on the parade ground for the
disbandment parade (at which another formation was flown). Another wave of deliveries arrived at
Cosford in June. At the end of the month XX119 was unveiled in a truly fantastic paint scheme
showing the Jaguar's spots revealed as if the grey camouflage was peeling off, a fitting and
flamboyant end to the type's career. The remaining airframes were flown into RAF Cosford on 2nd
July 2007, with XX119 touching down as the last jet in the wave. This left just one Jaguar in UK
military service, QinetiQ's T.2B XX833, based at Boscombe Down. XX833 continued to fly until
later in the year and her final flight was on 20th December 2007, after a quick tour of the UK taking
in places with a strong Jaguar link - Coltishall, Coningsby and Warton. The RAF retain a significant
number of Jaguars for ground training purposes (including some in taxiing condition), and XX119
was used as a testbed to trial an improved Adour engine intended for the Indians. With 33 years of
frontline service and over a decade of combat operations, the "supersonic advanced trainer"
certainly provided value for money for the RAF.

Ecuadorian Jaguar International ES FAE302; BAE Systems

By 2006, Ecuador's small Jaguar force had also been retired. Their original 12 aircraft (Jaguar
Internationals - 2 EB trainers and 10 ES), equipping Escuadron de Combate 2111, were reduced to 9
by 1991, when three attrition replacements were acquired (ex-RAF GR.1s). A further attrition
replacement deal in 1993 fell through and by 1997 they were down to 8 airworthy examples and
just 6 by 2000. Despite occasional conflicts with Peru, no Ecuadorian Jaguars were lost in combat
operations - mostly because the Jaguar force were held back as a strategic asset to carry out deep
strike missions should the conflicts escalate. In the 1981 'Protocolo War' conflict, however, there
was at least one Jaguar recce sortie carried out deep into Peruvian territory. By 2002 their remaining
handful of Jaguars were grounded and kept in ready reserve until 2006 when they were officially
retired.

Omani Jaguar Internationals; BAE Systems

By contrast, both Oman and India continued to operate the type after the RAF had retired theirs.
Oman initially ordered 12 aircraft, equipping 8 Squadron, and later followed up with a further order
to include enough jets for a second squadron (20 Squadron) and some attrition replacements,
bringing their total order to 27. Their pair of twin seaters unusually include the RWR normally only
carried by the British Jaguar S, but have refuelling probes on the nose as per French examples.
Omani Jags saw similar upgrades to RAF examples as part of a programme to extend their life
when no suitable replacement could be found; since then the Omanis have purchased a number of
F-16s, but continued to operate their Jaguars while they decided on a more modern replacement.
With the Eurofighter Typhoon being selected and deliveries due to begin in 2017, the last four
flyable Jaguars were withdrawn from service in August 2014 leaving the F-16 as a stopgap
replacement.

Indian Jaguar IM with Sea Eagle; BAE Systems

India is now the final user of the type, after an uncertain start. It took BAC more than 10 years to
get the Indian Air Force to make their initial order, which was finally signed in late 1978. This was
a large order for 130 aircraft, 35 to be built in the UK and the remainder to be licence built in India
by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). Initial training was also carried out in the UK with the RAF
Jaguar OCU. 14 Squadron were the first to form in July 1979, becoming fully operational in
September 1980, followed by 5, 16, 6 and 27 Squadrons. The early Indian Jaguar Internationals (or
'Shamsher' as they are named in Indian service) were equipped as per RAF Jaguars, but the
unreliable NAVWASS was soon upgraded to the DARIN inertial navigation system. Several aircraft
were also upgraded with a French-built Agave radar in the nose and Sea Eagle air-to-surface missile
capability for maritime strike purposes. Since then the type has followed a similar upgrade path to
the RAF Jaguars, with DARIN II including further improved navigation kit, HUD and MFDs,
HOTAS and improved RWR. The radar-equipped Jaguar IMs have had Israeli-built Elta 2032 radars
installed also.
Combat operations have been limited, with Shamshers taking part in recce sorties during peace
keeping operations over Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990 and a limited number of bombing sorties
against invading Pakistani-backed militia in the 1999 Kargil War (Operation Vijay). In common
with other types in Indian service the Jaguar has seen unusually high attrition due to various
flavours of accident; however it is a well liked type and HAL's continued manufacture of new
Jaguars indicates just how useful an asset it is considered to be. It is highly likely that the type's
nuclear strike capability has also been an important consideration. In exercises IAF maritime strike
Jaguars have even successfully 'sunk' a US aircraft carrier - no mean feat. The latest DARIN III
upgrades, currently in progress, include further improvements to navigation including GPS and ILS,
and also a better autopilot and data recorder along with the addition of radar to some airframes.
Over the years, however, the Shamshers have become heavier and the 'Fat Cat' was identified as
needing more powerful engines. An improved Adour (as mentioned above) was trialled but it now
looks like India will be buying an entirely new Honeywell engine to upgrade its Jaguar fleet to
enable it to fly on well into the next decade. With the Indian Jaguars having now surpassed the
RAF's 33 years of service, hopefully they will make it to 40 and - who knows - perhaps even to 50!

Leading Particulars
Variant GR.1 T.2 GR.3 T.4
First flight 1 Oct 1972 28 Mar 1973 Jan 1996? Sep 1998?
Crew One Two One Two
Two 30mm cannon, up to Two 30mm cannon,
One 30mm One 30mm
10,000lb of bombs or up to 10,000lb of
cannon, up to cannon, up to
LGBs, rocket pods, bombs or LGBs,
Armament 10,000lb of 10,000lb of
WE177 tactical nuclear rocket pods, AIM-9
bombs, rocket bombs, rocket
bomb, AIM-9 Sidewinder Sidewinder missiles,
pods, etc. pods, etc.
missiles, etc. etc.
2 x 8040 lbf
Powerplant 2 x 7380 lbf Adour 102 2 x 8430 lbf Adour 106
Adour 104
Max. speed 1,056 mph ? ? ?
Service
45,930 ft ? ? ?
ceiling
334 miles (low level) to
Range ? ? ?
2190 miles (ferry)
Empty
15,432lb ? ? ?
weight
Max. take
34,612lb ? ? ?
off weight
Wing span 28ft 6in
Wing area 260.3 sq ft
Length 55ft 2.5in 57ft 6in 55ft 2.5in 57ft 6in
Height 16ft 10.5in
11 (all
Production 165 38 50 (all conversions)
conversions)
Details for non-RAF versions will be added soon.
Externally the various major variants are quite easily distinguished; there are a number of points to
look for. French Jaguar As do not have the 'chisel nose' of the RAF and International single seaters,
nor do they have the RWR fairing on the fin. French Jaguar Es have a fixed refuelling probe on the
tip of the nose; RAF two seaters have a pitot probe in this position. The sole Jaguar M had single
mainwheels and double nosewheels rather than the other way round as per all other marks.
Externally the GR.1 and GR.3 differ only in minor details such as aerial fit; the situation is the same
for the T.2 and T.4. Most of the differences are in the cockpits on these variants.
- See more at: http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/jaguar/history.php#sthash.G5Ur0mrr.dpuf