IAF's Jaguar Upgrade programme

[arp2041]

In IAF's inventory the most ignored plane is SEPECAT Jaguar, here is the complete programme review of it's upgrade

Introduction

MOD has signed a Rs.3113.02 crore contract with HAL for upgrade of IAF Jaguars by December 2017.

Need for Upgrade

The IAF currently operates 120 Jaguar strike fighters powered by Rolls-Royce Adour-811 turbofan engines. The aircraft, which first entered squadron service in the early 80s, is considered under-powered at medium to high altitudes making it suitable for hostile airspace penetration only at low levels.

Based on a fatigue analysis, the IAF estimates that Jaguars could remain operational till 2030. The service has drawn up an upgrade program under which the aircraft will be re-engined and re-equipped with fourth-generation cockpit and mission avionics, and self protection suite.

Upgraded Jaguars will feature all weather precision attack capability with enhanced weapon load.

Weapon Fit Upgrade

Jaguar avionics are being upgraded to employ 'smart' or 'advanced' weapons like the Joint Standoff Weapon, Maverick missile, Paveway precision-guided munition and AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missile.

IAF contracted Raytheon to develop a Munitions Control Unit (MCUs) that would allow its Darin II equipped Jaguars to use the smart weapons with minimal to no modifications to aircraft wiring and the flight or stores management software.

Raytheon developed an MCU measuring 13 by 6 by 3 inches that weighs roughly 6 pounds. It's compact enough to be fitted in a weapons pylon or Jaguar's avionics bay, from where it interfaces between "smart" weapons and the existing software of a legacy aircraft.

Orders are now being placed for the MCUs.

Engines Procurement for Upgraded Jaguars

In November 2010, the IAF issued an RFP for the supply of 280 turbofans (including 40 spare engines) for re-engining IAF Jaguars.

In response, Rolls-Royce offered its Adour MK-821 engine, an upgraded version of the Adour-811, and Honeywell its F125IN Turbofan engine that currently powers Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation-built Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter.

The Honeywell F125IN has a max thrust of 43.8kN, and the Rolls-Royce Adour Mk811, 32.5kN.

According to Honeywell, F125IN is 267.6kg (590lb) lighter than the Adour-811 currently fitted on the Jaguar. The F125IN has 17% and 40% higher thrust that will allow the Jaguar to carry an additional 2-tons.

Rolls-Royce says its Adour Mk-821 will be a lower-risk upgrade that will offer 90% commonality with the Adour Mk951 turbofan fitted on BAE Systems/HAL Hawk Mk132. The upgraded engine will off er 20% increase in thrust

Both engines feature Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC)

However, Rolls-Royce pulled out of the competition in March 2011 creating a single vendor situation and forcing cancellation of the tender.

Avionics Upgrade

Upgraded Jaguars will feature

Glass cockpit with DARIN-3 navigation and attack avionics suite HOTAS controls.
An Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (IDAS) being co-developed by the DRDO’s Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) and Cassidian (formerly EADS Defense Electronics).

Jaguar Upgrade - IDP Sentinel

 

[acetophenol]

Cool news.the jags will be super cool

 

[jha]

DARIN was a unique program when it was started... Sadly DARIN-III has still not started..

 

[Vritra]

Jaguar avionics are being upgraded to employ 'smart' or 'advanced' weapons like the Joint Standoff Weapon, Maverick missile, Paveway precision-guided munition and AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missile.

The ASRAAM was selected for IAF Jaguars.

So was the Sidewinder claim an error?

 

[sancho]

The ASRAAM was selected for IAF Jaguars.

So was the Sidewinder claim an error?

This is not a news report but an info website, so this is just a summary of certain infos wrt the upgrade and Raytheon indeed has offered several weapons, but neither was a decision made yet, let alone a contract signed.

Personally this is nothing more than a life extention, especially for the newer Jags that were build in the 2000s, but any costly addition hardly makes any sense, because this single role fighter is not up to date anymore. It's a good addition to the fleet for 2nd day strikes, but nothing more, because IAF will have way more capable strike capability with upgraded Mig 29 / Mirage 2000s, MKI, Rafale and even LCA MK1. The limited capabilities of the Jags are not worth it anymore and producing them so long was actually a big mistake. They should have procured some additional Mirage 2000s instead!

 

[Abingdonboy]

When DARIN-III UPG and Honeywell re-engineing is complete IAF Jags will be potent beasts until they are replaced.

 

[arp2041]

When DARIN-III UPG and Honeywell re-engineing is complete IAF Jags will be potent beasts until they are replaced.

The article says that there life can be extended till 2030, which will be a good cushion for the IAF till AMCA or FGFA comes in complete nos.

 

[MilSpec]

When DARIN-III UPG and Honeywell re-engineing is complete IAF Jags will be potent beasts until they are replaced.

i know it seems like a good news, but jAgs are not an bird that the adversary would be afraid off. If you look at the price of the upgrade for engine and weapons package, we would be better off buying brand new MKI for the purpose.

 

[Abingdonboy]

i know it seems like a good news, but jAgs are not an bird that the adversary would be afraid off. If you look at the price of the upgrade for engine and weapons package, we would be better off buying brand new MKI for the purpose.

It's a tricky situation, like previous ACM said about M2K and their upgrades- he has a/c with 20+ years of life left in them, should he just through them away?


It doesn't matter if neighbors aren't afraid of the platform- let them underestimate these a/c at their peril. With these UPG they will be a very capable deep-penetration strike a/c. But with only 120 of them likely to be UPG their prooprtion of the entire IAF fleet will not be huge anyways.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

This is not a news report but an info website, so this is just a summary of certain infos wrt the upgrade and Raytheon indeed has offered several weapons, but neither was a decision made yet, let alone a contract signed.

Personally this is nothing more than a life extention, especially for the newer Jags that were build in the 2000s, but any costly addition hardly makes any sense, because this single role fighter is not up to date anymore. It's a good addition to the fleet for 2nd day strikes, but nothing more, because IAF will have way more capable strike capability with upgraded Mig 29 / Mirage 2000s, MKI, Rafale and even LCA MK1. The limited capabilities of the Jags are not worth it anymore and producing them so long was actually a big mistake. They should have procured some additional Mirage 2000s instead!

So the Jaguars in the IAF have become single engined? What happened to the other engines on the aircraft, did they fall of or were they sold off?

Where did this absurd idea of replacing Jaguars with Mirage 2000s come from?
One is a low level optimised twin engine ground attack aircraft; i.e. the Jaguars (they were twin engine till one engine got lost).
The other is an optimised single engine high level interceptor aircraft; i.e. the Mirage 2000

So how does someone replace one aircraft with the other??

 

[sancho]

When DARIN-III UPG and Honeywell re-engineing is complete IAF Jags will be potent beasts until they are replaced.

Be realistic man, it gets a bit more payload and some new weapons that's it, nothing important and nothing that would make a difference. The only point is, that they are new and have to be upgraded to get their full potential life of up to 40 years and not because they are really capable. Any main strikes will be done by Mirage, Rafale and MKI, beyond 2020 by FGFA and AURA. Even the upgraded Jags will not even be close to offer IAF any real advantage anymore.

 

[Hulk]

So the Jaguars in the IAF have become single engined? What happened to the other engines on the aircraft, did they fall of or were they sold off?

Where did this absurd idea of replacing Jaguars with Mirage 2000s come from?
One is a low level optimised twin engine ground attack aircraft; i.e. the Jaguars (they were twin engine till one engine got lost).
The other is an optimised single engine high level interceptor aircraft; i.e. the Mirage 2000

So how does someone replace one aircraft with the other??

He said single role, means only ground strike role. He did not say single engine.

 

[sancho]

So the Jaguars in the IAF have become single engined? What happened to the other engines on the aircraft, did they fall of or were they sold off?

How about reading the quoted part once again?

 

[Su-11]

-_- Why this kolaveri against Jaguars & Ground Attack fighters? Jaguars may be junks in Air-Air combat, but they are very good as Strike aircrafts. The Basic fact is, the most number of sorties in a war is not Air superiority/patrol sorties, but ground attack! There is a reason why Air Superiority fighters are either phased out or transformed into multirole, even if it means a slight reduction in their Air Superiority characteristics, but pure ground attack jets are still employed... that's because the basic fact of war is that it is fought mostly on the ground, not in the air! So pure Air Superiority fighters become useless after gaining Complete/Permanent or even Local/Temporary Air Superiority. Like the IAF, even the Americans and Russians are not stupid to phase out their A-10s and Su-25s anytime soon. Infact the Russians are developing a brand new ground attack jet based on the Su-25. So much for phasing out "single role fighters".

 

[sancho]

IAF Strike capability from 2015 onwards

CAS:

Mirage 2000-5 - 2 x 500 / 1000lb LGB or PGM
Mig 29UPG - 2 x Kh 29 / 4 x 1000lb guided bomb
LCA MK1 - 2 x 1000lb LGB
Rafale - 6 x 250 / 500lb LGB or PGM (6 to 12 x Brimstone missiles likely to be integrated)
MKI - 6 x Kh 29 / 1000lb guided bomb

Jaguar - 2 x 1000lb LGB


Heavy / deep strike:

Mirage 2000-5 - 1 x 2000lb LGB or PGM / 1 to 2 Scalp cruise missiles
Mig 29UPG - X / X
LCA MK1 - X / X
Rafale - 1 to 3 x 2000lb LGB or PGM / Scalp cruise missiles
MKI - 1 to 3 x 3000lb guided bomb / 1 to 3 x Kh 59 / 1 x Brahmos cruise missile / up to 32 x 200 or 500lb dumb bombs

Jaguar - 1 x 2000lb LGB


SEAD:

Mirage 2000-5 - X
Mig 29UPG - 2 x Kh 31
LCA MK1 - X
Rafale - 6 x 250 / 500lb PGM
MKI - 6 x Kh 31

Jaguar - X


Maritime attack:

Mirage 2000-5 - 1 to 2 x Exocet missiles (if bought through MMRCA deal) or Scalp cruise missiles
Mig 29UPG - 2 x Kh 31 / 35
LCA MK1 - X
Rafale - 1 to 3 x Exocet missiles (if bought through MMRCA deal) or Scalp cruise missiles
MKI - 6 x Kh 31 / 1 x Brahmos cruise missile

Jaguar - 1 x Harpoon missile



In not a single strike role, the Jaguars would offer IAF any advantage over the French and Russian fighters, no matter if it has a bit more thrust and payload. It's simply an old generation fighter concept, that makes it useful only as a reserve ground attack fighter and that a decade before it will be replaced.
Life extention is needed and good, but it should be a cost-effective upgrade only, meant for the newst versions while the older can be replaced by armed drones even before 2020 (more useful in CAS, longer range and endurance, cheaper to operate). The rest of the Jags should be replaced in future by AURA UCAV, which would be a game changer again in all these roles.