Jaguar Upgrade Now or Never

Any further delay in the upgrade, especially re-engining of Jaguars will lose its purpose as the aircraft has 15-20 years of residual life

The Anglo-French fleet of the Sepecat Jaguar deep penetration strike aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is one of its primary strike aircraft in the combat fleet. Out of the fleet of 140 aircraft acquired initially, currently around 125 remain in service. Inducted into the IAF some four decades back, it has undergone multiple upgrades in its avionics and weapons, keeping it relevant in its role for the IAF. However, the most important component of the aircraft, its engine, is yet to undergo upgradation.

The aircraft, powered by two Rolls-Royce’s Adour Mk 811 turbofan engines, is underpowered and hence to improve its flight envelop which could allow it to operate in high operating environment such as in the mountains, a more powerful engine is required.

Since, its induction into the IAF, the aircraft has seen upgradation of its avionics, radar systems and integration of laser guided and other modern weapons systems; but the need for new and significantly more powerful engines has remained unfulfilled.

The Jaguar fleet has completed more than 30 years of service with the IAF. It has no specified airframe calendar life and is only based on Fatigue Index. Based on the individual aircraft operational exploitation the fleet, it is believed that it has an approximate residual 15-20 years of airframe life. Modernization will add additional operational life to the aircraft for another 20 years. The decision to replace the engines must be made immediately. Any further delay in purchasing the engines will be useless.

The IAF is losing its fleet strength rapidly, but it has not been able to acquire replacement aircraft, except for the Russian Su-30 MKI which has been joining its fleets regularly. Had it not been for the Su-30 MKI, the IAF would have lost its fleet strength