At a time when the delivery of Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft has been affected due to delay in the supply of GE F404 engines, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has received an important relief from Britain. The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) has handed over 9 retired SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft to India, which will be used to keep the active Jaguar fleet of the Indian Air Force operational for a long time by extracting spare parts.
According to the information given in the British Parliament, the 9 aircraft handed over to India include 5 Jaguar GR1 and 4 Jaguar T2 trainer aircraft. Apart from this, Britain still has 42 retired Jaguar airframes, which can become the basis of spare parts and technical cooperation for India in future.
The Indian Air Force is currently facing the challenge of reduction in the number of fighter aircraft. It has about 29 fighter squadrons, while the sanctioned number is 42. On the other hand, HAL has faced difficulties in timely delivery of Tejas Mk1A due to delay in supply of GE F404 engines. In such a situation, it has become very strategically important to keep old but reliable platforms like Jaguar in service until sufficient numbers of new fighter aircraft are inducted.
India is the only country in the world which is still operating Jaguar fighter aircraft. After production stopped, availability of spare parts became the biggest challenge. For this reason, the Indian Air Force has been acquiring retired Jaguar aircraft from France, Oman and now Britain for the last few years and using their spare parts to maintain its active fleet.
These 9 British planes will not be flown again. The Jaguar fleet of the Indian Air Force will be kept operational by removing their landing gear, hydraulic systems, cockpit equipment, operational panels and other critical parts.
Until new indigenous fighter aircraft like Tejas Mk1A, Tejas Mk2 and AMCA come into service in sufficient numbers, the operation of the Jaguar fleet will remain vital to maintaining the deep strike capability of the Indian Air Force. In such a situation, the remaining 42 airframes with Britain can prove to be an important strategic reserve for India in future.
