The SEPECAT Jaguar is a twin engine, tactical strike and reconnaissance fighter.
The aircraft was manufactured by SEPECAT, which was a joint venture between Breguet (now Dassault) and British Aircraft corporation.
The aircraft was originally in service with British royal Air Force and the French Air Force.
A total of 573 jaguars have been ordered globally, comprising 403 to France and the UK, 54 to Oman, Ecuador, Nigeria and 116 to India.
The Jaguars were purchased by the Indian Air Force in 1978 to fulfil the need of a dedicated deep strike aircraft.
Brief History of the Anglo-French aircraft
The Jaguar programme was started in the 1960s to develop a new, supersonic jet trainer with low level attack capability for the British Royal Air Force. Eventually it was used for reconnaissance and nuclear strike roles.
The Maiden Flight of the Jaguar took place in 1968 and the aircraft was inducted in the French Air Force in 1973. The RAF inducted its first Jaguar in 1974.
The aircraft is currently in service only with the Indian Air force.
Weapons & Armament of the Jaguar
The Jaguar is fitted with 2x 30mm DEFA Canons with 150 rounds per gun.
Jaguar has 7 hardpoints & can carry up to 4.5 tons of payload including 2x air-to-air missiles on the over-wing pylons, anti-radiation missile, anti-ship missile (harpoon), various guided and unguided bombs.
Engine & Performance of the SEPECAT Jaguar
The Jaguar is powered by two Adour Mk 102 turbofan engines.
The Indian Air Force Jaguar is powered by Rolls-Royce Adour 811 engines which have been reported to have a power drop of over 15%.
Max Speed – Mach 1.6
Landing Speed- 213 km/h (115kn)
Service ceiling- 46,000 ft
Range- 850 km
Variants of the Jaguar
The Jaguar has 23 variants for different countries and roles. A naval variant was also designed for French navy but it achieved no success.
Indian Air Force Upgrades
The HAL is set upgrade the Jaguars (SHAMSHER) to – Darin-III standard. The project is aimed to be completed by 2024, few years behind schedule. The advance short-range air -to-air missile (ASRAAM) is also being integrated with the Jaguars. The Jaguar fleet of the IAF faces power-drop issues. Their engine was set to be replaced by Honeywell F-125IN turbofan engines until the plan was shelved in 2019.
Term Break-down
Reconnaissance- an exploratory military survey of enemy territory
Pylon- It is structure used to mount engines, missiles etc under the wing or fuselage of an aircraft.
Service ceiling - Service ceiling is the maximum altitude an aircraft can attain (basic definition)
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