SEPECAT Jaguar
The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force.
Originally conceived in the 1960s as a jet trainer with a light ground attack capability, the requirement for the aircraft soon changed to include supersonic performance, reconnaissance and tactical nuclear strike roles. A carrier-based variant was also planned for French Navy service, but this was cancelled in favour of the cheaper, fully French-built Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard. The aircraft were manufactured by SEPECAT (Société Européenne de Production de l'avion Ecole de Combat et d'Appui Tactique), a joint venture between Breguet and the British Aircraft Corporation, one of the first major joint Anglo-French military aircraft programmes.
The Jaguar was exported to India, Oman, Ecuador and Nigeria. The aircraft was used in numerous conflicts and military operations in Mauritania, Chad, Iraq, Bosnia, and Pakistan, as well as providing a ready nuclear delivery platform for the United Kingdom, France, and India throughout the latter half of the Cold War and beyond. In the Gulf War, the Jaguar was praised for its reliability and was a valuable coalition resource. The aircraft served with the French Air Force as the main strike/attack aircraft until 1 July 2005, and with the Royal Air Force until the end of April 2007. Its role was replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon in the RAF and the Dassault Rafale in the French Air Force.
Operational history[edit]
France[edit]
The French Air Force took delivery of the first production Jaguar in 1973, one of an eventual 160 single-seat Jaguar As. For type conversion training, France also took 40 of the two-seat Jaguar E.[52] While the Jaguar was capable of carrying a single AN-52 nuclear bomb, the French government did not assign any Jaguars for use in the Force de frappe, France's strategic nuclear deterrent.[53] Nuclear armed Jaguars were instead assigned the "Pre-Strategic" role, to clear a path for the Strategic strike force.[54] The AN-52 nuclear bomb was retired from service in September 1991, when the formerly nuclear-armed squadrons of Escadre de Chasse 7 then concentrated on conventional attack.[55] French Jaguars also performed in the role of electronic counter measures (ECM) aircraft, bearing the Martel anti-radiation missile, capable of staying airborne to suppress enemy defences for long periods of time through mid air refuelling.[29]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81,[27]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Avionics
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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