Panchkula, March 7 — A Jaguar fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a routine training sortie on Friday due to a technical malfunction. The pilot, a Flight Lieutenant, ejected safely and was rescued by the IAF.
The aircraft had taken off from Ambala airbase and crashed in a hilly forested area near Raipur Rani in Panchkula district, close to the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border. Locals assisted the pilot in freeing himself from his parachute harness before he was evacuated.
“The Jaguar aircraft crashed after encountering a system malfunction during a routine training sortie. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft away from inhabited areas before ejecting safely. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident,” the IAF said in a statement.
Ambala airbase, the IAF’s oldest, houses squadrons of Jaguar and Rafale jets along with other operational units. The Jaguar fleet has been in service for over 45 years, with IAF sources reporting more than 50 major and minor incidents, some of them fatal.
The IAF currently operates around 120 twin-engine Jaguars across six squadrons stationed at Ambala, Jamnagar, and Gorakhpur. Some have been modified for maritime operations with anti-ship missiles.
Originally acquired in 1979 from the UK, the fleet later expanded through domestic manufacturing by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with the last aircraft rolling out in 2007. India remains the last active operator of the Jaguar, while former users—France, the UK, Oman, Nigeria, and Ecuador—have retired them.
To extend their operational life, the IAF has been upgrading Jaguars with the DARIN-III navigation and attack system and equipping them with new-generation air-to-air missiles. Earlier this year, India procured 31 retired Jaguar airframes from France, along with units from the UK and Oman, to maintain the fleet’s serviceability.
