IAF'S JAGUAR CRASHES in Sikkim; by Squadron Leader R Husain
With the crash of an IAF Jaguar aircraft in Sikkim on 30th Nov 2012, the question as to whether its time for India to phase these 1968 technology aircraft out or not has again come to the forefront.
- (1888PressRelease) December 03, 2012 - With the crash of an IAF Jaguar aircraft in Sikkim on 30th Nov 2012, the question as to whether its time for India to phase these aircraft out or not has again come to the forefront. Who is to decide on this? Which departments play a role in taking these strategic decisions? Is the planning done adhoc or in a planned manner, as much as 10 to 15 yrs in advance? Do our Ministers, bureaucrats & the Defense Ministry take informed decisions? Why hasn't India deveoped its own aircraft particularly after the failures of the likes of MARUT? What happend to the mass induction of LCA that was to replace many of the front line fighters? There are many more questions that need be answered at this juncture.
The history of the Jaguars dates back to 1968 when India was approached as a possible customer for the Jaguar that were under production. India declined, partly on the grounds that it was not yet clear if the French and British would themselves accept the aircraft into service. However, a decade later they would become the largest single export customer, with a $1 billion order for the aircraft in 1978, the Jaguar being chosen ahead of the Dassault Mirage, F1 and the Saab Viggen after a long and difficult evaluation process. Difficult!! it must have been keeping in view the many obvious factors other than the mere technological ones. The order involved 40 Jaguars built in Europe at Warton, and 120 licence-built aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under the local name Shamsher ("Sword of Justice").
Indian Jaguars were used to carry out reconnaissance missions in support of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. They later played an active role in the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan, dropping both unguided and laser-guided bombs, the IAF defining its role as a "deep penetrating strike aircraft". The Jaguar is also used in small numbers for the anti-ship role, equipped with the Sea Eagle missile.
The Jaguar remains an important element of the Indian military along with the Mirage 2000. Ironically these Mirage 2000's that were subsequently inducted into the IAF Suadron's & primarily stationed at Gwalior, are from the stables of Dassault Aviation, whose Mirages were rejected by India for reasons that can only be speculated upon. Even though it dawned on the decision makers later that the Jaguar can't be developed into an active nuclear platform due to a lack of ground clearance for deploying India's gravity-dropped nuclear bombs.
As the Jaguar fleet aged, the avionics were viewed as lacking suitable components for the ground attack missions such as terrain-following radar, GPS navigation, and modern night-flight systems etc and consequently several upgrades were carried out in the mid-1990s. The Indian Air Force plans to upgrade up to 120 Jaguars by fitting more powerful engines, either Adour Mk821s or Honeywell F125IN to improve performance, particularly at medium altitudes.
Many of the operators who inducted these aircraft in the 1968's and later have already stopped operating these. Particularly the UK, France, Ecuador & Nigeria. Only India & Oman operate Jaguars to this day with no phasing out in near sight. Worth noting will be the fact that the nations that developed & manufactured Jaguars offered their 10 year old, second hand manufacturing lines to India & the Indian decision makers happily went ahead and further invested huge amounts in developing large set ups in the form of HAL Jaguar Manufacturing divisions. Now, with inadequate planning & foresight, India is stuck with this huge infrastructure that it can't offload to any other country nor a planned changeover of these facilities has taken place. Which are the agencies that should have played a key role in taking a timely decision. Or are we going to continue holding onto the Jaguar manufacturing lines just like a grown up kid obsessed with his childhood toys. The answers to these can be best provided by the Defense Minister himself or his MOD.
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