In late June 2013, a viral video showed an Indian Air Force Jaguar jet attack aircraft
hitting a flock of birds soon after takeoff.
The video was taken in the city of Ambala, India, with thousands of social media users
flocking to the internet to discuss the event and the events that followed.
The strange yet common incident resulted in the failure of one of the Jaguar’s engines,
and what the pilot did next was the result of quick thinking and extensive training,
which earned him high praise from the Indian Air Force for having potentially saved hundreds
of civilian lives on the ground.
As Ambala Superintendent of Police Mohit Hand said: (QUOTE) “No one was injured, though
panic gripped the area for a while…”
India's Superstar Aircraft
The SEPECAT Jaguar is a jet-powered attack aircraft that was initially developed as a
joint effort between the British and French Air Forces.
Manufactured by SEPECAT, the , it was one of the first major joint military aircraft
programs between the two countries.
The Anglo-French aircraft was first flown in 1968 but was initially conceived almost
a decade earlier as a jet trainer with a light ground attack capability.
However, the project soon evolved to include supersonic performance and several other roles,
including reconnaissance and tactical nuclear strike capabilities.
A monoplane design with a single-seat, swept-wing, twin-engine, the aircraft can carry up to
10,000 pounds of internal weapons.
Since its introduction, the SEPECAT Jaguar has been exported to countries like Oman,
Ecuador, Nigeria, and India, participating in numerous conflicts and military operations,
where the type has been praised for its reliability and is considered a valuable resource.
While the Jaguar has been retired from both the Royal Air Force and France's Air Force,
it remains in service in India.
In fact, the Indian Air Force was approached as a potential customer going back to the
aircraft’s initial development days.
However, the service declined until the Jaguar proved its worth with the French and British
Air Forces.
A decade later, the Indian Air Force became the aircraft’s most significant single export
customer when the service signed a one-billion-dollar order in 1978.
Notably, the aircraft was chosen after a long and challenging evaluation process.
From the moment they were added to the Indian Air Force, the Jaguars have been used for
countless missions, beginning with the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka in the late
1980s.
Then, at the turn of the century, the Indian Jaguars played a vital role in the Kargil
War against Pakistan as a deep penetrating strike aircraft.
Quick Reaction
On June 27, 2019, a Bharatiya Vayu Sena Indian Air Force Jaguar jet attack aircraft took
off from the Ambala Station for a training exercise.
The single-seat, twin-engined aircraft was operated by the Indian Air Force's 14th Squadron,
known as the Bulls, and was loaded with two external fuel tanks and Carrier Bomb Light
Stores, commonly used for armament training.
Shortly after taking off, the aircraft encountered a flock of birds, causing one of the two engines
to malfunction, immediately followed by an engulfing flame.
As the Jaguar continued its climb, the unforeseen incident prompted the pilot to abort the training
flight, and in the heat of the moment, he decided to jettison the aircraft's underwing
stores.
As the ordnance was dropped, the events triggered a large explosion that set the dry bushes
near the Air Force's runway ablaze, leaving the entire zone covered in smoke.
Then, after jettisoning the additional fuel tanks, the pilot successfully landed the plane.
The impressive incident was caught on video and quickly became viral in Indian media,
as well as in other international outlets.
The Truth
Many people pondered why the pilot decided to drop the ordnance and deliberately cause
a dangerous explosion, especially as the Air Force base is located in the heart of a populous
city.
Ambala, in the state of Haryana, is 135 miles away from the country's capital of New Delhi
and is home to over 200,000 citizens.
The 7 Wing Air Force Station Ambala Cantonment has two squadrons flying the SEPECAT Jaguar
in two different versions.
The station is also the future home base of the 17th Squadron that received the French-made
Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft in two different variants in 2020.
That June, the official Twitter account of the Indian Air Force revealed the truth about
the strange incident and claimed that the young pilot's presence of mind and swift response
saved his and potentially many civilian lives.
In a few seconds, the IAF pilot evaluated his perilous circumstances and tossed the
items while still above the base to lighten the inherently underpowered Jaguar, and then
successfully attempted an emergency landing as per standard Indian Air Force operating
procedure.
According to the Indian Air Force: [QUOTE] "Despite one of the most serious emergencies
staring in his face, the young pilot assessed the situation in a matter of seconds and jettisoned
the two extra fuel drop tanks as well as the Carrier Bomb Light Stores pods."
The IAF also stated that they would order an official court of inquiry to further investigate
the reasons behind the incident.
The service ended the series of tweets crediting the unnamed pilot for saving many civilian
lives as well as protecting a war-waging asset.
A statement from force officials to ANI news, Asia's premier news agency, then read: [QUOTE]
"His actions bear testimony to the highest professional standards of the IAF resulting
from extensive operational training.
The professionalism and quick thinking by the pilot not only saved a war waging asset
but also the lives of many civilians in the area adjoining the field."
The Future
To this day, the Jaguar remains an essential element of the Indian military, and the aircraft
has been described as one of the few vehicles in their arsenal capable of adopting a nuclear
strike role with excellent success rates.
However, as the aircraft aged, the Indian Air Force implemented many upgrades in avionics,
additions, and engines.
The latest upgrade program, Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation or DARIN III,
was approved in 2013, with the first models flying in 2019.
In addition to new avionics and equipment, DARIN III features a new cockpit, modified
avionics, a video recording system, auto-pilot, and radar integration.
Still, After serving in the Indian Air Force for decades, the Jaguars are now facing major
challenges and will most likely be phased out sooner rather than later.
Wear and tear on the type's Adour 804/811 engines have caused the machines to lose up
to 20 percent of their power over the years, and as a result, the Jaguars have been underperforming
while flying fast and low to penetrate into enemy territory and bomb their ground-based
targets in a single pass, then flying back to base without being noticed.
In missions like these, power is essential for survival.
Several attempts by the Air Force to acquire new Honeywell-built F-125IN turbofan engines
have proven futile, especially with a hefty 13.3-million-dollar price tag for two engines
per aircraft.
In an interview with the Eurasian Times, former Jaguar pilot Vijainder K. Thakur concluded:
[QUOTE] “Just because the Jaguar is underpowered, it does not mean it should be junked immediately.
It can be phased out over the next decade.
Meanwhile, it can still play a potent role along our western frontier flying nap-of-the-earth
profiles.
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