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An Anglo-French collaborative project, the Jaguar was produced jointly by the British Aircraft Corporation (later British Aerospace) and Breguet (later Dassault-Breguet) under the auspices of the Société Européenne de Production de l’Avion Ecole de Combat et d’Appui Tactique (SEPECAT). In the 1960s, it was a contemporary of two other Anglo-French aircraft projects, the Concorde supersonic airliner and the Anglo-French Variable Geometry (AFVG) strike aircraft.

The Jaguar had originally been intended as an advanced trainer and light attack aircraft, based on the Breguet 121 design, and was to be built in five variants – Jaguar A, a single-seat light attack aircraft for the French Air Force (Armée de l’Aire – AdA); Jaguar E, a two-seat trainer for the AdA; Jaguar B, a two-seat trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF); Jaguar S, a single-seat ground attack aircraft for the RAF; and Jaguar M, a single-seat carrier-based strike aircraft for the French Naval Aviation (Aéronavale). However, after the French pulled out of the AFVG project in 1967, forcing its cancellation, the RAF reconsidered the operational requirements for Jaguar S, and it evolved into a more complex strike/ attack aircraft.

The French-built prototype, a Jaguar E, first flew in September 1968, and its British counterpart, a Jaguar S, followed a year later. A total of 400 Jaguars were built, and the British and French armed services each received half of the production run. In the meantime, under pressure from Dassault, the Aéronavale had changed its mind and selected the Étendard as its carrier-based strike aircraft over the Jaguar. The 50 Jaguar Ms that had been ordered by the Aéronavale were instead built as As for the AdA.

The RAF order was for 165 single-seat Jaguar GR 1s (Jaguar Ss) and 37 two-seat Jaguar T 2s (Jaguar Bs). The Jaguar was powered by two Rolls- Royce Turbomeca Adour 102 afterburning turbofan engines and armed with a pair of DEFA 30 mm cannon, with provision to carry weapons and stores on four underwing pylons and an under-fuselage centreline pylon. In addition, two air-to-air missiles (AAMs) could be carried on overwing pylons.

The brains of the aircraft was the sophisticated Marconi-Elliott Navigation and Weapon Aiming Sub-System (NAVWASS), which gave the pilot accurate navigation information via a projected map display and weapon aiming symbology in the Head-Up Display (HUD). In addition, a Ferranti Laser Ranger and Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS) and a Marconi ARI 18223 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) were retrofitted to the Jaguar GR 1, which also benefitted from upgrading with the Adour 104 in 1978. With full afterburner, the new engine delivered ten per cent more power than the earlier version, giving better take-off performance.

The Jaguar was capable of air-to-air refuelling (AAR) with a retractable probe fitted into the right side of the aircraft’s nose. The Jaguar entered frontline RAF service at Coltishall, in Norfolk, in 1974, replacing the Phantom FGR 2 in the ground attack role. In turn, the Phantom FGR 2s were released to replace the Lightning in the air defence role. Once fully formed, the Coltishall Wing comprised two attack squadrons and one tactical reconnaissance squadron, and was declared to the NATO Allied Command Europe Mobile Force. The three Jaguar squadrons at Coltishall also formed part of Britain’s national rapid reaction force.

Meanwhile, in 1975, the Phantom FGR 2 squadrons at Brüggen, in West Germany, began to re-equip with the new type. The Jaguar Wing at Brüggen comprised four squadrons in the nuclear strike and conventional attack roles, which were declared to the NATO Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) 2nd Tactical Air Force. A tactical reconnaissance squadron was also based in West Germany, at Laarbruch.

The prime role of the Brüggen Wing was nuclear strike using the British WE177 weapon. The Jaguar was the first single-seat aircraft to be employed in this role, and since all procedures in relation to nuclear weapons are based on the ‘two-man principle’ in which no single person has access to a weapon system, extra measures were needed to ensure the integrity of the processes. At Brüggen, five nuclear-armed aircraft were continuously maintained on Quick Reaction Alert at 15 minutes readiness to launch throughout the Jaguar years. The RAF Germany-based Jaguars were also fully integrated into the AAFCE conventional (i.e. non-nuclear) ‘Option Alpha’, which comprised pre-planned attacks on Warsaw Pact airfields and strategic surface-to-air (SAM) systems.

Another ‘first’ achieved at Brüggen was operation from Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HASs), which were constructed at the base in the mid- 1970s. HAS operations ensured that the Wing could continue to fly combat missions during Nuclear, Biological and Chemical threats, as well as protecting the aircraft from air and missile attack. A tough regime of frequent no-notice exercises, including periodic Tactical Evaluations by AAFCE staff ensured that the Brüggen Wing maintained the highest levels of readiness and combat effectiveness.

At Laarbruch, No 2 Sqn carried out the reconnaissance role using the bespoke EMI Jaguar reconnaissance pod. The latter was optimised for lowlevel operations, with one forward-looking camera and a fan of four more cameras giving 120-degree coverage on either side and beneath the aircraft. Additionally, an infra-red linescan was located in the rear of the pod. Pilots carried out visual reconnaissance to supplement the photographs and in case there was any failure within the pod.

Throughout its service life the Jaguar received upgrades to improve its effectiveness. In 1983 the fleet was modified to GR 1A standard with the replacement of the original Elliott E3B inertial platform within the NAVWASS with the Ferranti FIN 1064. Apart from offering a significantly better navigation platform, this modification also introduced improved ergonomics by moving the NAVWASS controls onto the cockpit coaming so that the pilot did not have to go ‘heads in’ when making selections on the control panel.

The upgrade programme also included the procurement of Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment in the shape of the AN/ALQ-101-10 jamming pod and Phimat chaff dispenser, as well as the fitting of a chaff dispenser in place of the landing parachute in the tail cone. The EW pods were carried on the outer underwing pylons, leaving the inner underwing and fuselage centreline pylons available for fuel drop tanks, weapons or a reconnaissance pod. Two 1200-litre fuel tanks could be carried on the underwing pylons, with a reconnaissance pod or bombs on the centreline pylon, or a single tank could be carried on the centreline, with weapons loaded on the underwing pylons.

Recognising the need for a precision strike capability for the Jaguar after the Gulf War, the RAF had 11 aircraft modified under an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) in 1994 to carry the GEC-Ferranti Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator (TIALD) pod, becoming the GR 1B variant. In this modification, a Military Standard 1553B databus was fitted as well as a new HUD and controls for the pod itself.

A further enhancement programme three years later, known as ‘Jaguar 96’, modernised the remaining Jaguar GR 1A and T 2 fleet, now numbering some 60 airframes, to the Jaguar GR 3 and T 4 standard, respectively. Most of the GR 1B modifications were incorporated (although not all GR 3 aircraft were TIALD capable), as well as Hands On Throttle And Stick controls for avionics and weapons functions and full compatibility with Night Vision Goggles. The programme also featured a global positioning system (GPS) feed to the navigation/attack system and a terrain-matching database for the TERPROM ground proximity warning system.

A final upgrade of 36 aircraft under the ‘Jaguar 97’ project to become Jaguar GR 3As was rolled out in 2002. Along with various avionic enhancements, the aircraft were re-fitted with more powerful Adour 106 engines and equipped with a Helmet Mounted Sight System.

You can read more in RAF Jaguar Units in Combat