Is It Time for India to Retire Jaguar Fighter Jets? (Social Media)
National News: A tragic crash of an Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet in Rajasthan’s Churu district on Wednesday has reignited concerns over the continued use of aging military aircraft. The accident, which claimed the lives of two pilots, is the third such incident involving a Jaguar since March this year. This fresh mishap has prompted aviation experts and defense analysts to question whether the time has come for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to begin phasing out the decades-old Jaguar fleet.
India first inducted the SEPECAT Jaguar in 1979, assigning it to No. 14 Squadron, also known as the "Bulls," based at Ambala Air Force Station. Nicknamed ‘Shamsher’ in India, these aircraft were built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) using French-British technology.
Currently, the IAF operates around 115–120 Jaguars across six squadrons, but their operational relevance is diminishing, with rising maintenance demands and limited modern combat capability.
Jaguar jets played a supportive role in the 1999 Kargil conflict, though they weren’t used in direct strike missions. Instead, they aided in reconnaissance and surveillance. Defense sources suggest that the Air Force plans to begin retiring the fleet by 2027–28, with complete withdrawal expected by 2035–2040.
One of the main challenges of the Jaguar fleet is its extensive maintenance requirement—roughly 20 hours of upkeep for every single hour of flight. Over the years, more than 50 major and minor accidents have been reported, with many traced to engine faults in the Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour MK804 and MK811 models.
Tim Davis, a former Royal Air Force instructor, has noted, “Even after upgrades to the engines and avionics, airframe fatigue becomes a serious concern. At a certain point, you can’t modernize your way out of aging hardware.”
Nations like Britain, France, Nigeria, Ecuador, and Oman have already retired the Jaguar from active service, relegating them to museums or scrapping them entirely. In India, however, these aircraft continue to be deployed on key missions, raising questions about the associated risk to life and national security.
Each pilot’s life is invaluable, and every crash is more than just a number—it's a national tragedy. The recent Churu crash underscores the urgent need to modernize India’s combat aircraft fleet. Experts say it’s time to replace outdated platforms like the Jaguar with newer, more reliable, and technologically advanced systems to ensure the safety of personnel and the efficiency of operations.
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