BAE Systems

The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017 79

Jaguar - anglo-French strike trainer

performance from airfields in high
temperatures zones often proved poor.
Nor did the French Jaguars receive the
overwing missile pylons retrofitted to the
RAF fleet but they did get nav/attack
modifications and other major additions to
their weaponry.
French Jaguars were employed against
insurgents in Senegal and Mauretania in
1977, in Chad the following year and until
1987 against a Libyan-backed insurgency.
In 1991, 28 French Jaguars were sent to
the Gulf as part of ‘Operation Desert Storm’
to counter the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Cuts were made to the size of the Jaguar
force after the Gulf operation but they
were still an asset for the French forces.
They flew bombing missions over Bosnia
in 1993 and Kosovo in 1999. After 32 years
operational history they were withdrawn
from service in July 2005

In service with the RAF
The RAF’s Jaguars appeared distinctively
different appearance from their French
counterparts with their chisel nose
window for the laser rangefinder and
marked target seeker (LRMTs), which was
an aid to automatic weapon release.
First deliveries of the Jaguar began at
Lossiemouth at the end of May 1973 and
others gradually followed with training
courses beginning there in February 1974.
At its peak the Jaguar equipped eight units †

‡ XX733 Jaguar GR1 of RAF No 6 Squadron. (BAE SYSTEMS North West Heritage)

in Britain and Germany, playing an

important NATO strike and reconnaissance

role. Paradoxically it was only after the end

of the Cold War that the Jaguar was used

in a conflict when it was employed in 1991

as part to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

Prior to ‘Operation Desert Storm’, the

Jaguars received improvements to the

engine, better chaff dispensers and

overwing missile pylons as fitted to the

Jaguar International. Jaguars continued

over Iraq after the cessation of hostilities as

part of ‘Operation Northern Watch’ to

contain Iraqi activities against the Kurds.

Jaguars flew similar operations over the

former Yugoslavia in 1996. After these

operations the aircraft received an avionics

upgrade including Thermal Imaging

Airborne Laser Designation (TIALD) pod

for self-designation of targets and the

Jaguar GR3 XZ109 of No 6 Sqn taxiing with
flight refuelling probe extended and overwing
pylons. The Jaguar export version, the Jaguar
International, introduced overwing missile
racks and these were retrofitted to RAF
Jaguars. (BAE SYSTEMS North West Heritage)