Panchkula, March 7 — A Jaguar fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training sortie on Friday due to a technical issue. The pilot, a Flight Lieutenant, ejected safely and was later evacuated by the IAF.
The aircraft, which took off from Ambala airbase, went down in a forested area near Raipur Rani in Panchkula district, close to the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border. Local villagers rushed to the scene and assisted the pilot in releasing his parachute harness.
“The aircraft encountered a system failure mid-flight but was steered away from populated areas before the pilot ejected. A court of inquiry has been initiated to determine the cause,” the IAF stated.
Ambala airbase, one of the IAF’s key stations, houses both Jaguar and Rafale squadrons. The Jaguar fleet has been operational for over 45 years, with over 50 recorded incidents, some resulting in fatalities.
Currently, the IAF operates around 120 Jaguars across six squadrons based at Ambala, Jamnagar, and Gorakhpur. Some have been adapted for maritime missions with anti-ship missiles. The aircraft were initially imported from the UK in 1979, followed by indigenous production by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with the final batch delivered in 2007. India remains the last country still operating Jaguars, as other nations have phased them out.
To enhance the fleet’s combat capabilities, the IAF has been upgrading Jaguars with the DARIN-III avionics suite and integrating advanced air-to-air missiles. Earlier this year, India acquired 31 retired Jaguar airframes from France, along with additional units from the UK and Oman, to sustain operational readiness.
