New Delhi: For over four decades, the SEPECAT Jaguar has remained a critical element of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) ground-attack, deep-strike and nuclear attack capabilities.
Originally a joint Anglo-French development, the Jaguar, christened as Shamsher (meaning Sword of Justice in Persian), was inducted by the IAF in 1979. The IAF currently operates six squadrons of the Jaguars and is the only air force in the world to still operate them.
The arrival of the first two Jaguars on 27 July, 1979, marked the beginning of a new era in the IAF’s aviation capabilities, Group Captain Kapil Bhargava noted in an article he wrote for the magazine Air Forces Monthly.
It was a time when the de Havilland Vampires, first introduced in India in 1948, retired, and both the Canberra B(I)58 and Hawker Hunter F.56 of the 1957 vintage were becoming outdated. This meant India needed a modern aircraft that had the capability to carry out low-level air interdiction and provide close air support.
The Jaguar soon earned a reputation as a low-level deep penetration strike specialist. However, its legacy has been marred by persistent engine shortcomings, outdated systems, and a series of crashes linked to mechanical failures.
Concerns were again raised by the 2 April crash in Gujarat’s Jamnagar in which 28-year-old IAF pilot Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav was killed and his co-pilot was injured.
A statement from the IAF said the crash, minutes after takeoff, was caused by a “technical malfunction”, without giving details. According to the Aviation Safety Network database, at least 12 Jaguars have crashed in the last 10 years, including two this year—one in Jamnagar and the other in Haryana’s Ambala district last month.
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A brief history of the Jaguar
The Jaguar was conceptualised in the 1960s through a collaborative venture between France’s Breguet Aviation and Britain’s British Aircraft Corporation. The result was a multi-role aircraft designed to fulfil both advanced trainer and light attack roles.
The finalised design produced a twin-engine, supersonic-capable fighter-bomber optimised for low-altitude missions. Entering service with the Royal Air Force in 1973 and the French Air Force in 1974, the Jaguar would later be exported to several countries, with India becoming its largest foreign operator. It saw action in numerous conflicts, including the 1991 Gulf War and peacekeeping missions across Africa and the Middle East.
In India, the aircraft were initially procured from the UK, with subsequent license production managed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The aircraft was designated ‘Shamsher’ in the Indian service.
Over 160 Jaguars were inducted in different variants, including the Jaguar IS, a single-seat strike fighter; the dual-seat trainer Jaguar IB; and the Jaguar IM, the naval strike version equipped with Sea Eagle missiles. These aircraft were deployed across strategic sectors and played a key deterrence role, particularly as part of India’s nuclear triad.
Powerplant woes: The Adour engine issue
While the Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 804 and Mk 811 engines that power the IAF Jaguars were considered reliable during the early years of operation, their performance has significantly deteriorated over time.
One of the primary concerns is the underpowered thrust output of just 8,430 pound-force (lbf) per engine, which proves inadequate in India’s hot-and-high flying conditions, especially from forward air bases near the Himalayas. The engines struggle with performance during critical mission phases such as takeoff, climb, and low-level maneuvering under full payload conditions.
Moreover, the engine design is considered outdated by contemporary standards. It lacks the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), a computer-managed aircraft ignition and engine control system. This makes engine management in Jaguars less precise and more prone to manual error.
Over the years, fleet-wide ageing has led to a rise in frequent flameouts, compressor stalls, and oil pressure failures mid-flight, often leaving pilots with little time to respond.
Adding to these woes, the availability of spare parts for the Mk 804/811 engines has become a serious logistical bottleneck. With Rolls-Royce having moved on to newer engine lines, the IAF has had to increasingly rely on HAL for indigenous support.
A plan in the early 2010s to upgrade the Jaguars with Honeywell’s F125IN engines, promising nearly 30 percent more thrust, better fuel efficiency, and modern engine management systems, was eventually shelved due to high costs, integration challenges with the Jaguar’s airframe, and concerns over return on investment given the platform’s remaining service life.
As a result, the IAF continues to operate Jaguars with engines well past their intended design life, often cannibalising grounded aircraft to keep the remaining fleet operational. This has made engine-related attrition one of the most significant risks associated with the Jaguar platform today.
Legacy avionics and the need for change
The original avionics suite of the Jaguar, a set of basic analog systems, while advanced for its era, was quickly outpaced by evolving combat needs.
Some of the limitations—including the inertial navigation system lacking GPS support, a Basic Head-Up Display (HUD) with minimal targeting functionality, and no onboard radar in early variants—made the aircraft less effective for modern combat, particularly for night or all-weather operations, precision targeting, and electronic survivability.
To address these shortcomings, beginning in the 1990s, the IAF initiated a multi-phase modernisation initiative, which it called DARIN (Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation).
Interestingly, the original name suggested for the project was INDRA, a Hindu god. But the name was dropped because it was “uncomfortably close to the name of the PM Mrs Indira Gandhi,” Bhargava said.
“The CAS Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh altered it to DARIN … To manage the project, Inertial Nav-Attack System Integration Organisation (IIO) was specially set up at Bangalore under the aegis of Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO),” he added.
DARIN I introduced an improved inertial navigation system (INS) and a laser rangefinder, boosting targeting and navigation reliability.
DARIN II in the 2000s carried upgrades such as GPS-aided navigation, mission computers for enhanced weapon delivery, multi-function displays (MFDs), secure digital communication systems, and electronic stores management for guided munitions.
DARIN III, from the 2010s onwards, set up the most advanced digital architecture for the aircraft. This included advanced mission computers, solid-state flight and video data recorders, digital moving map generators, an integrated electronic warfare suite, and trials for EL/M-2052 AESA radar on selected airframes.
These upgrades transformed the Jaguar into a more versatile and survivable platform, capable of deploying precision-guided munitions and operating effectively in network-centric warfare environments.
At least two squadrons are still left to be upgraded to Dariin III standard by the HAL.
Despite its vintage, the Jaguar remains operational due to strategic necessity and a lack of immediate replacements. However, the IAF’s current roadmap envisions phasing out older, non-upgraded aircraft starting in 2027–2028.
This would also see the continued operation of around 50–60 DARIN III Jaguars until 2031–2032. Future replacements are expected to come from the Tejas Mk1A, Tejas Mk2, and eventually the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.
Aditya Manish Shrikhande is an intern with ThePrint
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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