Indian Air Force will upgrade its SEPECAT Jaguar deep penetration strike fighters to maintain enough combat force as attrition and delay...
Indian Air Force will upgrade its SEPECAT Jaguar deep penetration strike fighters to maintain enough combat force as attrition and delayed acquisitions dwindled fighter squadrons.
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said the fleet will be upgraded with new engines and weapons to extend the service life of the aircraft by 15-20 years.
Around 100 of the 120 aircraft fleet will be upgraded with a new Honeywell F123IN turbofan engine, AESA radar and will feature the indigenous HAL developed DARIN III avionics under a $3 billion deal.
The two Rolls Royce/Turbomeca Adour 804/811 engines with a thrust of 32.5 kN thrust each will be replaced by the 40.3 kN Honeywell F125 engines, providing 20 percent more power.
Honeywell claims the F125 engine will increase the Time Before Overhaul (TBO) from the current 500 hours to 2000 hours and also have a 30 percent thrust growth potential, which can be tapped in future.
The upgrade will be carried out by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which have considerable experience in assembling, maintaining and upgrading the aircraft, along with Honeywell and other partners from India.
Developed in the late 1960s under a Anglo-French collaboration as a supersonic trainer with secondary ground attack roles, the Jaguar continued to be a underpowered platform with poor navigation and weapon aiming systems.
India signed a contract for 165 Jaguar fighters in 1978 with UK, in which 35 were procured in fly away condition while the remainder assembled in India by HAL.
The first HAL assembled Jaguar was rolled out in 1982. Since then continued upgrade has made the Jaguar heavier and lacking thrust to perform its low-level deep penetration strike missions.
Several Indian Jaguars were also upgraded for maritime strike featuring a French-built Agave radar and Sea Eagle air-to-surface missile.
The upgrade will enable Indian Jagaurs to carry the Textron built CBU-105 sensor fused precision guided weapon system acquired from U.S., which can cripple enemy concentrations using a cluster of smart bombs.
IAF's combat strength is down to 34 squadron, down from the authorized 42 squadrons to tackle a perceived two front war with China and Pakistan. The number will further dip to 30 squadrons when around 200 of the ageing crash prone MIG-21 and MIG-27 fighter fleet are retired by the end of decade.
IAF is already upgrading its MIG-29 and Mirage 2000 fleet to improve its combat strength and has concluded a deal with Dassault to acquire 36 Rafale fighter jets.
India is currently the only operator of the Jaguar, after Oman retired its fleet in 2014.
