The SEPECAT Jaguar

v1.0.0 / 01 sep 03 / greg goebel / public domain

* In the early 1960s, Britain and France began a collaboration to build a new trainer / strike aircraft. After some difficulties, this machine finally emerged as the SEPECAT "Jaguar", which has provided excellent service for decades in the air forces of Britain, France, and several other nations. This document provides a history of the Jaguar.


[1] JAGUAR ORIGINS
[2] FRENCH JAGUAR A / JAGUAR S
[3] JAGUAR IN FRENCH SERVICE
[4] RAF JAGUAR GR.1 (JAGUAR S) / JAGUAR T.2 (JAGUAR B) / JAGUAR ACT
[5] JAGUAR IN RAF SERVICE / RAF GR.1A & T.2A / GULF WAR / UPGRADES
[6] RAF GR.1B / GR.3, GR.3A, T.4
[7] JAGUAR IN ECUADORIAN, NIGERIAN, AND OMANI SERVICE
[8] JAGUAR IN INDIAN SERVICE
[9] COMMENTS, SOURCES, & REVISION HISTORY

[1] JAGUAR ORIGINS

* While military aircraft often have complicated origins, the story of the birth of the Jaguar must rank as one of the more complicated.

In 1957, British Defence Minster Duncan Sandys (pronounced "Sands") published a white paper that stated the day of the manned combat aircraft was over, and the future belonged to guided missiles. In the wake of the "Sandystorm", many promising British aircraft development projects were cancelled, and British Royal Air Force (RAF) officers began to wonder if they would all be out of jobs soon.

Sandys had greatly overestimated the capability of the guided missiles available at the time, though he could be forgiven to a degree because his point of view was not all that unusual at the time, with both the US and the USSR scaling back important aircraft programs in favor of missiles. The fact remains that he was unarguably wrong. By the early 1960s, a backlash of sorts had emerged, with officers and defense officials now brave enough to question that the day of the manned combat aircraft was really over. New aircraft development proposals began to emerge, if timidly.

One of these proposals emerged in 1962 as "Air Staff Target 362 (AST.362)", which specified an advanced jet trainer to replace the Folland Gnat T.1 and the Hawker Hunter T.7. The trainer was also to serve as a light tactical strike aircraft. The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC, later the core of the modern British Aerospace / BAe organization) came up with a design for the requirement designated the "P.45", featuring twin afterburning Rolls-Royce RB.172 engines, then in design, and a top speed of Mach 1.7.

Proposals were one thing, commitment and funding another, and the money was not forthcoming. However, the French government was also casting about for a new trainer with secondary strike capabilities, which emerged in parallel with AST.362 as a requirement for the "Ecole de Combat et Appui Tactique (ECAT)". The ECAT was to replace the Fouga Magister and Lockheed T-33 in the training role for the French Armee de l'Air (AdA), and the Dassault Super Mystere B.2, Republic F-84F, and North American F-100 in the attack role.

These two parallel requirements led to discussions between the two nations for a collaboration on a single aircraft to meet the requirements of both Britain and France, with a provisional joint specification released in March 1964, followed by a refined specification in October 1964. British politicians liked the idea of a collaborative program as a means of improving relations with the French and gaining a foothold into the European Common Market.

The meeting of minds was not exactly a perfect fit. There was uncertainty on both sides over the relative priorities of the trainer versus the strike requirements for the collaboration, and so discussions led the two sides to propose two collaborations, one based on the ECAT that would serve as a trainer for the RAF (and possibly the Royal Navy) and as a trainer / light strike aircraft for the ADA; and a more formidable dedicated strike fighter with "swing wings" for both the RAF and the AdA, designated the "Anglo-French Variable Geometry (AFVG)" aircraft.

A decision to proceed on these two collaborative efforts was formalized in a "memorandum of understanding (MOU)" signed on 17 May 1965. As far as the trainer / light attack aircraft went, the initial agreement envisioned that the RAF would obtain 150 advanced trainer variants, while the AdA would obtain 75 trainer variants and 75 light attack variants.

The name "Jaguar" was announced for the new aircraft in June 1965. The British trainer was designated "Jaguar B (Biplace)", while the French trainer was designated "Jaguar E (Ecole)" and the French light attack aircraft was designated "Jaguar A (Appui)".

* In May 1966, Breguet Aviation of France and British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) formed a joint production company to build the new aircraft. The collaboration was named "Societe Europeanne de Production de l'Avion Ecole de Combat et Appui Tactique", blessedly abbreviated as "SEPECAT". The AFVG was to be built by a collaboration between Dassault and BAC.

The baseline for the Jaguar was the Breguet "Br.121", an unflown design for a light strike aircraft that was a follow-on to the Breguet "Br.1001 Taon (Horsefly)". The Taon had been built for a NATO requirement (the name was in fact an anagram of "NATO"), with a single prototype flying in the late 1950s. That earlier requirement had actually been won by the Fiat G.91 fighter.

The engine for the Jaguar was also to be built by an Anglo-French consortium, with Rolls-Royce of the UK merging their RB.172 engine design, which the French had selected for the Br.121, with that of the T-260 Turbolet produced by Turbomeca of France, resulting in an afterburning turbofan designated the "RT-172 Adour".

However, the Br.121 design defined a machine of modest capability, with a combat load of only 590 kilograms (1,300 pounds) and a limited combat radius. The British wanted something more formidable and pushed the project in that direction, with BAC changing the design to a bigger and more powerful aircraft. This was a little strange in hindsight because the original British requirement was only for trainers. It appears that the "mission creep" in the Jaguar program was due to RAF insecurity created in the years following the "Sandystorm", in which one British advanced aircraft project after another took it in the neck. The RAF wanted to have more options in case other branches of aircraft development ran into dead ends.

The French felt the changes in definition would lead to delays in delivery and they would be proven right, but they were also tempted by the revised machine's improved capability and went along with the British. Whatever the reasons for the British push for a more capable combat aircraft, the change in direction would prove justified when the French killed off the AFVG in June 1967, citing lack of funds. The British were thoroughly annoyed when they found out that the funding shortfall was due to the fact that the French government had transferred the money to another Dassault program to build what amounted to the AFVG, but as a purely French program.

In any case, on 9 January 1968 the British and French governments signed a second MOU on the Jaguar, with both countries committing to the purchase of 200 aircraft each. The British would obtain 110 Jaguar B trainers and 90 single-seat "Jaguar S (Strike)" strike fighters. The AdA would still obtain 75 Jaguar Es and 75 Jaguar As, but the French naval air arm, the Aeronavale, would obtain 10 Jaguar Es and 40 examples of a carrier-capable Jaguar single-seat strike variant, the "Jaguar M (Marine)".

The quantities were tweaked again in January 1970, with the British turning almost 180 degrees from their original position by ordering 165 Jaguar S strike fighters and only 35 Jaguar B trainers. The French must have rolled their eyes.

* In any case, Jaguar prototypes were flying by this time:

Two prototypes were built for each of the four variants, giving a total of eight, with five of the prototypes built in France and three in the UK. A single prototype of the Jaguar M carrier-based strike variant for the Aeronavale -- with a longer nosewheel leg, stinger arresting hook, and other navalizations -- performed its initial flight on 14 November 1969. It completed carrier deck trials before being cancelled in favor of the Dassault Super Etendard, an act which in hindsight is widely regarded as having been a bad move.

The Super Etendard was clearly less capable, but it was sold as a modest low-cost update of the existing Etendard IV, and though the "modest" part turned out to be arguably true, the "low-cost" part turned out to be unarguably false. Some authors have poked fun at the evaluation report on the Jaguar M versus the proposed Super Etendard, which is said to have criticised the Jaguar M's handling with an engine out, somewhat oblivious to the fact that as the Super Etendard only had one engine its engine-out performance clearly would leave even more to be desired. In any case, the AdA picked up the other 50 Jaguars ordered by the Aeronavale.

The other four variants all went into production, with initial production aircraft flying in 1972 and the type migrating into AdA and RAF service over the next few years. Production workshare was split 50:50 between the contractors, with BAC building the wings, engine intakes, rear fuselage, and tail assembly, while Breguet built the nose, center fuselage, and landing gear. There were final assembly lines in both countries to build their respective national variants, with BAC rolling out Jaguars at Warton and Breguet producing them at Colomiers, near Toulouse. Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca had a similar arrangement, each building half of the Adour engines, with Rolls completing British Adours at Derby and Turbomeca turning out French Adours at Tarnos.

The Jaguar was the first Anglo-French combat aircraft, and said to be the first RAF aircraft to be designed in metric. It would go on to prove a valuable asset to all the air forces that operated it. The fact remained that the Jaguar didn't really answer the requirements for which the program had been originally established, and these requirements remained outstanding. The RAF would eventually acquire the sophisticated strike aircraft sought in the AFVG effort as the Anglo-German-Italian Panavia Tornado, and an advanced jet trainer in the form of the BAe Hawk. The French would acquire the trainer / light-attack aircraft in the form of the Franco-German Breguet-Dornier Alpha Jet.

BACK_TO_TOP

[2] FRENCH JAGUAR A / JAGUAR S

* The French Jaguar A single-seater is of generally conventional configuration and has clean, if somewhat angular, lines. It is built mostly of aviation aluminum alloys, with selective use of titanium. There are no major composite assemblies. The aircraft was designed to be easy to maintain under austere field conditions, with no need for a ladder to reach most routine maintenance points. There are five internal fuel tanks, with one in the front, center, and rear of the fuselage and one in each wing, providing a total fuel capacity of 4,180 liters (1,102 US gallons). The Jaguar's handling is generally regarded as good, and it is said to be a fine aerobatic aircraft when flown in a clean condition.

The Jaguar A has a high-mounted wing with a sweep of 40 degrees and an anhedral of 3 degrees, with relatively small wing area for a smoother ride at low altitude. There is a leading-edge slat along the outboard section of each wing, and large, double slotted trailing edge flaps on both the outboard and inboard sections of each wing. There is a "dogtooth" between the outboard and inboard sections of the wing.

There are no ailerons, roll control being provided by a two-section spoiler on top of each wing, just forward of the outboard flaps. Some sources hint that there are underwing spoilers as well, but if so it is hard to figure out where they might be. There is a prominent "fence" between the inboard and outboard sections of the wing. Along with a conventional tail assembly, with all-moving one-piece horizontal stabilizers, there are two ventral fins. There are twin hydraulically-operated perforated airbrakes ahead of the ventral fins, under the wings. The hydraulic system is dual-redundant.

Early Jaguar As were powered by twin Adour 101 afterburning turbofans, with 2,470 kN (3,310 kgp / 7,300 lbf) afterburning thrust each, but the Adour 101 was quickly replaced by the Adour 102 variant, with the same thrust levels but a modified afterburner system. The Adour 101 would only go into afterburner at max RPM, but this made things dicey if a pilot had to break off a landing approach for another go-round if an engine was out, since the remaining engine was throttled-down and he would need afterburning power to get back up in the air fast again. The Adour 102 had an afterburner that could be engaged at 85% RPM. All British Jaguars were delivered with Adour 102s.

The engine inlets are mounted high on the fuselage, reducing risk of foreign object ingestion, and have fixed inlets, though there are twin tandem spring-loaded suction relief doors on the side of each inlet to provide greater airflow for ground running.

The Jaguar A uses ruggedized landing gear for rough-field operation, with single-wheel nose gear and twin-wheel main gear, all fitted with low-pressure tires. The nose gear retracts backward and the main gear retracts forward, rotating 90 degrees to tuck flat in the fuselage, a procedure that must be interesting to watch. The Jaguar also features a a runway arresting hook between the engine exhausts, and a brake chute in the tailcone. The brake chute can be replaced by a chaff-flare countermeasures dispenser.

The pilot sits in an air-conditioned and pressurized cockpit on a Martin Baker Mark 4 ejection seat, under a clamshell-style canopy that hinges open to the rear. The windscreen is made of armor glass. The Mark 4 ejection seat can only be used at ground level at speeds in excess of 165 KPH (90 knots) and is referred to as a "zero-ninety" seat. Some French Jaguars were later refitted with Martin-Baker FB9 seats, which are true "zero-zero" ejection seats that can be operated on the ground when the aircraft is standing still. All other national users selected the FB9 seat from the outset. There is a noticeable intake for the aircraft cooling system just behind the cockpit.

Avionics include simple navigation kit, including a Decca Doppler navigation radar license-built in France; a Thompson-CSF head-up display (HUD); fire-control electronics; identification friend or foe (IFF) & radio gear; and a CFTH radar warning receiver (RWR), with discreet receiving antennas in the top of the tailfin and in the wingtips. An OMERA 40 panoramic camera, fitted in a tidy fairing just under the nose, was introduced early in production, and midway through production was joined in the fairing by a TAV38 laser rangefinder. It appears that most or all Jaguar As that initially lacked the camera and the laser rangefinder were retrofitted with it.

The Jaguar A's built-in armament consists of twin 30 millimeter French DEFA 553 cannon with 150 rounds per gun, firing out from the "corners" of the fuselage behind cockpit. The cannon have a rate of fire on 1,300 rounds per minute each, and can be fired together or separately. There are two stores pylons on each wing and one under the centerline, for a total of five. The centerline and inboard pylons are rated at 1,130 kilograms (2,500 pounds) each, while the outboard pylons are rated at 565 kilograms (1,250 pounds) each. Total stores load is 4,540 kilograms (10,000 pounds).

The centerline and inner wing stores pylons are "wet" and can be used to carry up to a total of three external RP36 tanks, with a capacity of 1,187 liters (313 US gallons) each. A retractable inflight refueling probe is fitted on the right side of the nose.

   SEPECAT JAGUAR A:
   _____________________   _________________   _______________________
 
   spec                    metric              english
   _____________________   _________________   _______________________

   wingspan                8.69 meters         28 feet 6 inches
   wing area               24.18 sq_meters     260.27 sq_feet   
   length                  16.83 meters        55 feet 3 inches
   height                  4.9 meters          16 feet

   empty weight            7,000 kilograms     15,430 pounds
   loaded weight           15,500 kilograms    34,175 pounds

   max speed at altitude   1,595 KPH           990 MPH / 560 KT
   service ceiling         14,000 meters       46,000 feet
   combat radius           1,410 kilometers    875 MI / 760 NMI
   _____________________   _________________   _______________________

   The combat radius is given for a HI-LO-HI mission profile with 
   external tanks.  

Typical stores loads might include iron bombs; Belouga or other cluster munitions; SNEB 68 millimeter unguided rocket pods; external fuel tanks; and air to air missiles (AAMs) such as the Matra Magic. Two squadrons were equipped with the AN-52 25 kilotonne tactical nuclear weapon. Other French Jaguar stores include the Martel anti-radar missile and its follow-on, the "Armat"; and the last 30 Jaguar As were fitted to carry the Atlis laser-target designator pod on the centerline, for guidance of French BGL laser-guided bombs and the AS-30L laser-guided missile.

Jaguar As can also carry the RP63P centerline reconnaissance pod, which is a modified drop tank fitted with one forward-looking and two side-looking film cameras. Some sources claim the pod also retains a partial fuel storage capability, which seems plausible given that the three cameras wouldn't take up that much space. Countermeasures gear includes a variety of jammer pods, such as the ESD Barax countermeasures pod; the Phimat chaff-flare dispenser, carried on an outer wing pylon; and neatly faired Alkan chaff-flare dispensers under under each wingroot. As mentioned, a dispenser can also be carried in the tailcone.

* The French Jaguar E two-seater is slightly longer than the Jaguar A and had the same powerplants, but reduced avionics kit and no retractable inflight refueling probe, though some were fitted with a fixed probe. The rear seat is raised by 38 centimeters (15 inches) to give the back-seater a better forward view.

BACK_TO_TOP

[3] JAGUAR IN FRENCH SERVICE

* A total of 160 Jaguar A strike aircraft were delivered to the AdA beginning in 1973. At its peak, the Jaguar equipped nine AdA squadrons. The AdA obtained 40 two-seat Jaguar Es, for a total of 200 Jaguars of all types. They were initially delivered in dark green / dark gray camouflage with flat silver undersides.

The French found the Jaguar very handy for their running string of interventions in Africa. The aircraft was very capable, rugged, easy to maintain, and could be operated off of rough airstrips under primitive conditions. For desert combat, they were repainted in "sand and chocolate" camouflage. AdA Jaguars were the first to fire shots in anger, operating from Dakar, Senegal, beginning in December 1977 to perform attacks on Polisario insurgents fighting against the Mauritanian government.

Jaguars were then deployed to Chad in the spring of 1978 to perform strikes on Libyan-backed insurgents. After a political settlement in 1980, the French pulled out, only to return in 1983 and remain for a year when the fighting broke out again. Then, in 1986, the French returned once more to deal with an air base that the Libyans had built at Wadi Doum, in occupied northern Chad, to support insurgent forces. AdA Jaguars attacked the air base on 16 February 1986 with BAP-100 runway cratering bomblets, leaving a substantial mess behind. The Jaguars came back again on 7 January 1987, using Martel anti-radar missiles to hand out a similar rough treatment on Libyan radar stations around Wadi Doum.

AdA Jaguars, painted in two-tone sand camouflage, also served very well in the Gulf War, with the AS-30L laser-guided missile proving lethally accurate and effective. AdA Jaguars performed over 600 combat sorties during the active air war. No air-to-air kills were scored. One AdA Jaguar was damaged by a surface-to-air missile. It made it back to base but had to be shipped home on a cargolift aircraft.

After the Gulf War, the numbers of Jaguars in AdA service began a gradual decline. The nuclear strike role was dropped in September 1991, with that task taken up by the Dassault Mirage 2000N. The Jaguar did serve in French actions over the Balkans during the "wars of the Yugoslav succession" in the 1990s, but by 2001 it had been completely retired.

BACK_TO_TOP

[4] RAF JAGUAR GR.1 (JAGUAR S) / JAGUAR T.2 (JAGUAR B) / JAGUAR ACT

* The British Jaguar S single seater was actually designated as the "Jaguar Ground Attack / Reconnaissance Mark 1 (GR.1)" in RAF service. The British GR.1 is of course physically similar to the French Jaguar A, but there are many detail differences. The British aircraft have a different avionics suite, and are fitted British ADEN Mark 4 30 millimeter revolver cannon instead of the French DEFA cannon. The two cannon, though distinct, are very similar, both firing the same ammunition and both derived from World War II German Mauser design efforts.

The Jaguar GR.1 has more capable attack avionics kit than the Jaguar A, initially including the leading-edge (for the era) Marconi-GEC 920ATC "Navigation & Weapon Aiming Sub System (NAVWASS)" that provided flight direction and targeting data on a "head-up display (HUD)"; a look-down moving-map display; a Marconi ARI81223 RWR, with a distinctive rectangular antenna on the tailfin; and a Ferranti ARI23231 "Laser Rangefinder & Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS)" mounted in the nose, giving the GR.1 a "chisel nose" appearance different from the "pointy nose" French Jaguar A. The LRMTS was not actually fitted in initial production aircraft, but it was later retrofitted to all GR.1s.

The Jaguar GR.1 can carry 4,765 kilograms (10,500 pounds) of stores, including external tanks, iron bombs, cluster bombs (particularly the potent Hunting BL755 cluster bomb), rocket pods, and US-built AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs for self-defense. Oddly the British, despite their enthusiasm for the Jaguar, were slow in comparison to the French to qualify precision-guided munitions on the type. Other stores included the AJ-168 TV-guided version of the Martel; a WE177 tactical nuclear store; and a BAC-built centerline reconnaissance pod. The pod featured a forward-facing film camera in the nose, a fan of four horizon-to-horizon film cameras in the middle, and a stabilized, steerable Hawker-Siddeley Type 401 infrared linescan imager in the rear. Two of the center cameras could be swapped out for two wide-angle vertical survey cameras.

Countermeasures include the US-made AN/ALQ-101 jammer pod, carried on an outer wing pylon, and the Phimat chaff pod, carried on the other outer wing pylon. Later on, two US-built AN/ALE-40 chaff-flare dispensers were scabbed on to the lower fuselage. Jaguars usually operate in flights of four, with two aircraft carrying jammer pods and two carrying Sidewinders.

* The Jaguar B two-seat trainer was actually designated the "Jaguar Trainer Mark 2 (T.2)". The Jaguar T.2 has a subset of the GR.1's avionics, for example lacking the RWR, and only the right cannon is fitted. It is not regarded as combat-capable. The fixed flight-refueling probe fitted to some AdA Jaguar Es was not fitted to any RAF Jaguar T.2s.

* A number of Jaguars have been used for test and trials purposes, the most noticeable being the "Jaguar Active Control Technology (ACT)" demonstrator, a modified Jaguar S used to demonstrate reduced-stability / high-agility flight with a quadruple-redundant digital "fly by wire (FBW)" control system. The initial flight of the machine with the FBW system was on 20 October 1981. Ballast was then added to the tail to destabilize it, and in 1984 it was fitted with oversized leading-edge "strakes", performing its first flight in this configuration on 15 March 1984.

The Jaguar ACT was not intended as a prototype of an improved Jaguar, instead it was intended as a technology testbed for the "Experimental Aircraft Program (EAP)" demonstrator, a British-built machine that would more or less lead to the Anglo-German-Italian-Spanish Eurofighter multi-role fighter.

BACK_TO_TOP

[5] JAGUAR IN RAF SERVICE / RAF GR.1A & T.2A / GULF WAR / UPGRADES

* The British bought a total of 203 Jaguars, divided into 165 Jaguar GR.1s and 38 Jaguar T.2s. The three additional T.2s, beyond the 35 actually put in RAF service, were reserved for test and trials duties, and it appears that at least some of the four British prototypes ended up in test and trials service as well. The initial color scheme in RAF service was dark gray / dark green camouflage with a light gray belly, though temporary color schemes were adopted when necessary, such as white-and-green patterning for exercises in wintry Norway.

The Jaguar replaced the F-4 Phantom in the RAF low-level strike role, and while RAF pilots missed the sheer solidity of the Phantom and its heavy warload, the Jaguar was fine machine, optimized for low-level flight and capable of precision attack, as well as operation from rough airstrips. It was not as good a solution for all-weather operation and there were frustrating limitations on strafing and dive-bombing for a while that irritated RAF pilots, but it was much more survivable than the powerful but notoriously unmaneuverable Phantom.

At its peak in the strike role, the Jaguar was the backbone of RAF tactical strike capability in Central Europe, comprising four tactical nuclear strike squadrons, three conventional tactical strike squadrons, and a tactical reconnaissance squadron. The Jaguars began to be partly displaced by the Panavia Tornado in the mid-1980s, which took over roles such as nuclear strike, but the Jaguar still remained in frontline service.

* The RAF has been upgrading their Jaguars since the early days of its service. Beginning in 1983, British Jaguars were refitted with an improved Ferranti FIN 1064 navigation system, featuring an inertial navigation system (INS) plus a new computer and power supply, in place of the NAVWASS. The FIN 1064 was much more compact than NAVWASS, with one black box replacing five, and much more accurate and capable. Mission data could be programmed into the FIN 1064 by plugging in a memory module. Upgraded aircraft were given the designations "GR.1A" and "T.2A".

Although RAF Jaguars were originally delivered with the Adour 102 turbofans, within a few years the British aircraft were refitted with the more powerful "Adour 104" turbofans, providing 35.8 kN (3,650 kgp / 8,040 lbf) thrust each.

Several improvements were added in 1990, including upgrade of the Marconi RWR to Sky Guardian 200 standard, a much smarter piece of gear with a better threat-warning display; improvements in IFF and radio fit; and addition of an overwing launch rail on top of each wing for carriage of Sidewinder AAMs. The overwing launch rail was designed for the "Jaguar International" export variant, discussed in a later section, and allowed carriage of AAMs without sacrificing heavy underwing stores.

* RAF Jaguars thoroughly proved their worth in the Gulf War in 1991. They were painted in a very businesslike overall "desert pink" (actually a sand) color scheme. The RAF had obtained two Vinten VICON 18 Mark 600 Long Range Optical Pods (LOROP) for reconnaissance in 1990 and these pods were used in the Gulf War.

Over 600 combat sorties were performed by RAF Jaguars during the active air war, roughly the same number as AdA Jaguar sorties. They often carried CRV7 70 millimeter unguided rocket pods, as well US-built CBU-87 cluster bomb units, though as these were longer than the traditional British BL755 cluster bombs only one could be fitted on a pylon, as compared to the two BL755s that could be carried in tandem on a pylon. No air-to-air kills were scored. It is interesting to wonder if the RAF and AdA Jaguar pilots are inclined to certain cameraderie, in contrast to the sense of irritation, not always subtle, between the two countries over a joint development program that did not work as well as might have been hoped.

BACK_TO_TOP

[6] RAF GR.1B / GR.3, GR.3A, T.4

* The RAF had intended to scale down the Jaguar force during the 1990s, but after the good showing of the type in the Gulf War the plans were reconsidered. Another major influence in the decision to hang onto the Jaguars longer was the persistent stretchout in the delivery date of the Eurofighter, the Jaguar's intended replacement.

The entire RAF Jaguar force was consolidated in three squadrons at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk, though the aircraft continued to be dispatched to trouble spots. RAF Jaguars served in helping police the "no fly zones" set up in Iraq, as well as in the various policing actions in the Balkans during the 1990s. A neat overall gray paint scheme was introduced late in the decade as the standard Jaguar colors.

The RAF put considerable further effort into modernizing the Jaguar to keep it operationally effective. In fact, the upgrade program has been so enthusiastic that it is a headache to sort it out.

The first step in the series of upgrades took place in 1994, when the British Ministry of Defense issued an "Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR)" to fit a handful of the machines with the GEC-Marconi TIALD (Thermal Imaging And Laser Designation) 200 targeting pod, which had been shown to be a necessity during operations in Bosnia. TIALD includes a "forward looking infrared (FLIR)" imager mounted in a turret with a laser target designator for target marking. The upgrade involved fit of the MIL-STD 1553B digital avionics bus; an improved HUD; a flat-panel head-down multifunction display with dimensions of 12.5 by 12.5 centimeters (5 by 5 inches); and a hand controller to steer the TIALD turret.

The Jaguars given this initial TIALD upgrade were given the new designation "GR.1B", and went into action over Bosnia in the spring of 1995, generally performing "buddy designation" for RAF BAe Harrier GR.7s. Although the TIALD could be carried on an inboard wing pylon, with a fuel tank on the centerline and a laser-guided bomb (LGB) on the other wing pylon, it was judged more effective in Bosnia to carry a fuel tank on each inboard pylon, fit TIALD on the center pylon, and have other aircraft carry the LGBs.

* This effort led to the next two steps in the upgrade process:

The first Jaguar 96 upgrades were delivered in 1997, with the first Jaguar 97 upgrades delivered in 2000. By this time, the Jaguar 96 had been designated the "Jaguar GR.3" and the Jaguar 97 the "Jaguar GR.3A". Jaguar T.2s are also being refitted to some variation on Jaguar 96/97 standard -- the exact fit of the two-seaters is a bit unclear. The two-seaters are being redesignated as "Jaguar T.4".

A total of 61 Jaguar GR.3A and 18 Jaguar T.4 upgrades are planned. RAF Pilots have been extremely happy with the new capabilities, which they feel have made the Jaguar a significantly more effective combat aircraft.

* The Jaguar upgrades didn't end there, with the RAF implementing a "Continuous Technology Improvement Program (CTIP)" to add new features on an ongoing basis. New stores are being qualified, most significantly the BAe "Advanced Short Range AAM (ASRAAM)". ASRAAM is an "off-boresight" missile, meaning that the pilot doesn't have to point the entire aircraft at a target to get a missile seeker lock. The pilot instead "cues" the missile to a target with the HMSS.

Another new store is the Vinten GP(1) "electro-optical (EO)" reconnaissance pod, which carries fully electronic optical and infrared reconnaissance imagers, replacing the obsolete BAC film-camera pod. Apparently another Vinten EO pod was used earlier by Jaguars on a limited basis over the Balkans.

The latest upgrade to the aircraft itself involves replacement of the Adour 104 engine with the improved Adour 106, which uses the core of the Adour 871 fitted to the US Navy's T-45 Goshawk trainer, the afterburner of the export Adour 811, and a digital engine control. The Adour 106 provides simplified maintenance, enhanced reliability, and about 6% more thrust. The Adour 106s are all rebuilds of Adour 104s and are not new production engines.

60 Jaguars are receiving the Adour 106, with the last aircraft to be upgraded in 2005. This will be only three years before the Jaguar leaves service in 2008. The engine upgrade is still felt to be cost-effective, as the Adour 104 engines were proving quite a maintenance headache.

In fact, even in this twilight period the Jaguar may receive a few more upgrades. Candidates include fit of an "Integrated Data Modem (IDM)"; a built-in FLIR imager; a new overwing launch rail with Swedish BOL chaff-flare dispensers fitted to the rear end; and carriage of the Brimstone missile, a much-improved British derivative of the US Hellfire anti-armor missile designed for aircraft launch.

Given that RAF Jaguars are still around and in good fighting trim long after everyone might have expected them to be retired, it wouldn't be too surprising if they remain in service well after 2008.

BACK_TO_TOP

[7] JAGUAR IN ECUADORIAN, NIGERIAN, AND OMANI SERVICE

* Even before the Jaguar entered full production for the AdA and the RAF, the SEPECAT group had been considering an export version of the type, which became known as the "Jaguar International".

However, like almost everything else in the Jaguar story, things didn't work out quite as neatly as expected, since Breguet was bought out by the Dassault firm in 1971. Dassault worked hard to sell their Mirage F1 and had no interest in selling the Jaguar, and so the Jaguar International program basically fell into BAC / BAe's lap, with the British concern finally obtaining full rights for export sales from Dassault in 1980.

The failings of the collaboration with the French over the Jaguar apparently left many British defense and aerospace officials with a bad taste and suspicions of further such arrangements with the French. When discussions over a European "fourth-generation" fighter came up in the early 1980s, it was no great surprise that the French went their own way, with the Dassault Rafale fighter, while the British collaborated with Germany, Italy, and Spain on the Eurofighter. Incidentally, the British did get some satisfaction over the fact that in the competition for international sales between the BAe Hawk and Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet trainers, the Hawk would eventually win hands down.

In any case, the first Jaguar International development aircraft performed its first flight on 2 September 1975. The Jaguar International was modeled on the British Jaguar GR.1 or T.2, instead of the French Jaguar S or E. The initial powerplant was the Adour 804, an internationalized version of the Adour 104. Avionics fit that varied with customers but was generally a subset of RAF avionics, with the "chisel nose" for the LRMTS and the prominent RWR antenna on the tailfin.

SEPECAT offered an option for fitting Agave radar in the nose of the Jaguar International to allow the fighter to carry and control the BAe Sea Eagle antishipping missile on the centerline pylon. The Agave could pick up a vessel at a range of 130 kilometers (80 miles) and was initially trialed by being fitted into a modified drop tank. Production Jaguars with the Agave radar have a distinctive extended "pointy nose" with no pitot tube that immediately distinguishes them from any other single-seat Jaguar variant. They are the only Jaguars that are fitted with combat radar.

Weapons carriage was also generally similar to that of British Jaguars, with several customers buying the BL755 cluster bomb as a prominent store. The Jaguar International could be fitted with the overwing pylons, mentioned in the previous section, for carriage of heat-seeking AAMs, allowing all underwing pylons to be used for heavy stores. The usual overwing munition was a Matra Magic AAM, though the Sidewinder was also qualified eventually. Although it might seem that overwing launch would have led to problems with stores separation, it apparently was no big deal.

* The Jaguar International was purchased by four countries: Ecuador, India, Nigeria, and Oman. India was by far the most enthusiastic foreign user, and the relatively complicated history of the Jaguar in Indian service is discussed separately in the following section.

Ecuador, along with Oman, was one of the first customers, ordering ten Jaguar ES single-seaters and two Jaguar EB two-seaters in 1974, with deliveries in 1977. Officially speaking, they are actually the "Jaguar International ES" and "Jaguar International EB", but in the interests of simplicity the "International" will be dropped in the following text, though it applies to all new-build Jaguars supplied to the four foreign users.

They were flown in early RAF-style camouflage, with dark green and dark gray on top and light gray on the bottom. The Ecuadorian Air Force liked the Jaguar very much, ordering three attrition replacements in 1991, all three being ex-RAF Jaguar GR.1s that were refurbished by BAe. Several other attrition replacements may have been ordered since then.

* Nigeria ordered 18 Jaguars in early 1983, with the order consisting of 13 Jaguar SN single-seaters and 5 Jaguar BN International two-seaters. They were delivered beginning in 1984 and featured a pleasant dark green / sand / tan camouflage scheme.

The Nigerian government also took an option on 18 more Jaguars, to include six with Agave radar, but as it turned out not only did Nigerian drop this option, the government also withdrew the survivors of the first batch in the early 1990s due to budgetary problems.

* Oman ordered 12 Jaguars in 1974, including 10 Jaguar OS single-seaters and 2 Jaguar OB two-seaters. Deliveries were in 1977 and 1978. Oman ordered a second, identical batch of 12 in 1980, with deliveries in 1983. The two trainers in the second batch were unusual in featuring the ARI 18223 RWR and being fitted with French-style fixed flight refueling probes.

An ex-RAF Jaguar T.2 was also delivered in 1982, followed by an ex-RAF Jaguar GR.1 in 1986. The GR.1 was actually one of 16 that had been loaned to the Indian Air Force, and it was delivered straight from India to Oman. All Omani Jaguars were all painted in a brown / sand desert camouflage scheme. Overwing launch rails were originally fitted, at least to the single-seaters, for carriage of the Matra Magic AAM, but for some obscure reason the Omanis decided to switch to carrying AIM-9P Sidewinders on the outboard underwing pylons. Oman actually assigned its Jaguars an air-defense role.

21 Omani Jaguars were upgraded with the FIN 1064 nav-attack system from 1986 into 1989, bringing them up to GR.1A standards.

BACK_TO_TOP

[8] JAGUAR IN INDIAN SERVICE

* India had made inquiries about the Jaguar beginning in 1966, very early in the program, seeing the type as a potential replacement for increasingly antiquated Indian Air Force (IAF) English Electric Canberras and Hawker Hunters, with the requirement given the designation of "Deep Penetration Strike Aircraft (DPSA)". The selection process went on for 12 years, with India also considering the Dassault Mirage F1 and SAAB Viggen, but finally chose the Jaguar International in October 1978. The British must have been pleased to trump the Mirage F1.

The IAF was in such a hurry to get Jaguars that, as mentioned above, the RAF loaned the IAF 16 GR.1s and two T.2s in the summer of 1979. These were referred to as "Batch 1 / Interim" machines. Two of the "loaners" would be lost in IAF service, but the others would be returned in 1982 and 1984. Ten of the survivors went back into RAF service, one went to Oman as mentioned, and the other three were scrapped.

By that time, the IAF had received 40 "Batch 2" machines, all built in the UK, including 35 Jaguar IS single-seaters and 5 Jaguar IB two-seaters. The Jaguar IS was very similar to the RAF Jaguar GR.1, with Adour 804E engines and the NAVWASS system, though it did have overwing launch rails and carried Matra Magic AAMs. The IB was very similar to the RAF Jaguar B.

The Jaguar was known as the "Shamser (Sword of Justice)" in IAF service. There were some teething problems with these machines, most particularly landing gear failures that led Hindustan Aircraft LTD (HAL) of Bangalore, India, to perform an upgrade on the Batch 1 / Interim and Batch 2 machines. Apparently BAe then used this same fix on RAF Jaguars without compensating HAL, leading to a legal dispute that was settled out of court.

The Batch 2 aircraft were to be followed by "Batch 3" machines, produced by HAL, beginning with kits supplied by SEPECAT, but then with increasing local content. The local production scheme almost fell through due to a change in governments, but it went ahead, with the first Batch 3 machines going into IAF service in 1985.

The Batch 3 Jaguars were very up-to-date, featuring more powerful Adour 811 turbofans with 37.4 kN (3,810 kgp / 8,400 lbf) thrust each, along with a locally-produced avionics suite with a MIL-STD 1553B digital avionics bus. The centerpiece of the avionics suite was the "Display Attack & Ranging Inertial Navigation (DARIN)" system, replacing NAWASS. DARIN incorporated:

The system elements were integrated in India. Other avionics kit, such as radios, IFF, and automatic direction finder, was of Indian origin.

Local Indian production of the Jaguar is something of a confusing and tedious topic, with sub-batches of machines being delivered on an on-and-off basis. By the end of the century, an approximate total (sources vary) of 91 HAL-built Jaguars was delivered, including 69 IS single-seaters, 10 IB two-seaters, and 12 "Jaguar IM (India Maritime)" single-seat antishipping aircraft, with the Agave radar and the BAe Sea Eagle antishipping missile. Along with the 40 British-supplied machines, this gives a total of 131 Jaguars obtained by India in the 20th Century, not counting the 18 loaners.

* Most IAF Jaguars were originally painted in dark green / dark gray camouflage, though the Jaguar IMs were painted in a light gray / dark gray camouflage. The IAF has now adopted a standard overall light gray color scheme for all Jaguars, similar to that adopted by the RAF.

Indian Jaguars carry a wide range of ordnance, including dumb bombs, BL755 cluster bombs, SNEB unguided rocket pods, and Matra Durandal "runway dibber" bombs. Although the Sea Eagle missile is no longer in RAF service, it is still regarded as a highly effective weapon. The IAF also obtained a number of BAe centerline reconnaissance pods for their Jaguars, and later acquired more modern Vinten reconnaissance pods.

In recent years, as India has acquired a nuclear strike capability, the Jaguar is believed to be the primary platform for delivery of free-fall nuclear weapons. Another rumor is that IAF Jaguars have been given a low-cost "stealth" upgrade, featuring such simple items as anti-radar engine intake screens, that cuts their radar cross section by more than half.

* The IAF is expecting to obtain even more Jaguars. In 1998, an order was placed with HAL for 17 Jaguar IB two-seaters. Initial deliveries were supposed to be in 2001, but some problems with avionics systems slipped deliveries out to 2003.

These two-seaters being built to a fully combat operational standard for night attack, featuring the LRMTS along with a modern combat avionics system with new displays and a navigation system, featuring a ring-laser-gyro INS and a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation receiver. They will carry the Israeli Rafael Litening targeting pod, which features a daylight CCD camera, a FLIR imager, and a boresighted laser. The back-seater will work as a "weapons system officer" to direct precision-guided munitions while the front-seater flies the plane. The new aircraft will also be NVG compatible.

In addition, the IAF has 20 more Jaguar IS single-seaters on order, with an improved nav-attack system and modernized displays and processor. Similar avionics is also being refitted to older Jaguars, a welcome upgrade in particular for the surviving British-built Batch 2 aircraft as they retain the original NAVWASS system. Ten Jaguar IMs, apparently all that remain in service, will be refitted with an improved Israeli Elta EL/M-2032 multimode radar.

Further improvements are believed to be in the works, such as increased cockpit automation that will allow single-seaters to carry and use the Litening targeting pod. Given the new production and the improvements to older aircraft, it seems like the Jaguar will remain in IAF service for a good time to come, a tribute to the basic soundness and capability of the design.

BACK_TO_TOP

[9] COMMENTS, SOURCES, & REVISION HISTORY

* To an American, the whole story of the origins of the Jaguar gives some interesting insights into the odd mix of cooperation and antagonism between the British and the French, though I suppose the relationship between the Americans and the Japanese has a lot of similarities. It also gives a flavor of the somewhat roundabout way the English tend to do things, which baffles Yanks, who are inclined to straight-line, brute-force, sometimes over-simplistic ways of thinking.

It baffles us all the more to find out that it actually works out very well in some cases. The Jaguar is an excellent example.

* Sources include:

* Revision history:

    v1.0.0 / 01 sep 03 / gvg
BACK_TO_TOP