The future of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) six squadrons of Jaguar strike fighters is hanging in the balance.
The IAF has regarded the Jaguar as under-powered ever since it entered service in the late-1970s. Now, wear and tear on its twin Rolls-Royce Adour 804/811 engines has reduced the aircraft’s thrust even further — by an estimated 15-20 per cent.
As a result, the Jaguar faces difficulty in carrying out its demanding combat role: Flying low and fast, deep into enemy territory; bombing its ground target accurately in a single pass and then screaming back to base, ahead of enemy interceptors. In