The Fighter That Battled the Wrong War and Shocked Everyone
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Published 2024-07-04
Dismissed as obsolete, it was unexpectedly thrust into this hostile environment. Tasked with roles from ground attack and close air support to battlefield air interdiction, the Jaguars faced relentless challenges to disrupt enemy operations and protect coalition forces.
Attacks against SAM sites were routine, pushing the pilots’ luck every single time. These missions were sheer madness by Cold War standards, as the Jaguars dove right into the heart of the enemy’s missile engagement zone at medium altitude, fully exposed to surface-to-air defenses.
There was no chance to climb above the missile's reach, no room for error.
Against all odds, camouflaged in desert hues and armed to the teeth, the 'Desert Cats' took to the stormy skies time and time again without losing a single aircraft.
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All Comments (21)
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The Jag is one of those rare aircraft that looks even meaner with the wheels down.
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My Dad worked with a Jaguar Squadron at RAF Wildenwrath and RAF Bruggen in Germany in the 70s and he arranged for little me to sit in the cockpit once. Fantastic aircraft! Sadly my dad passed a few weeks ago, proud of you Dad!
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At LAST a video about our RAF Jags in the first Gulf war as ex 41 pilot who flew there this video was not bad , flying at 100ft or less happy days indeed
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The Jaguar was not outdated by the time it was retired by the RAF. It had undergone modifications and still had several years of service ahead of it. It was retired on cost saving grounds, like the Nimrod, Harrier and Sentry. It could still ruin your day, and India uses them to good effect, buying up all the spares after the RAF had to stop flying them. It was easy to maintain, and the fitters loved it, so much so that a group of them maintain a privately owned example in fast taxi condition.
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The only things obsolete in war are weapon systems but most importantly tactics. The archaic Blackburn Buccaneer and English Electric Canberra BOTH served with distinction in the Gulf War alongside the ageing Jaguar and flagship (but old) Tornado. All were used to their strengths and proved PERFECTLY lethal jets.
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Legend has it that a Jag only got airbourne on a hot day because of the curvature of the Earth. I also once read a Jag pilot describe the cockpit as "an ergonomic slum". Having said that, and despite being massively underpowered, every pilot who ever flew it absolutely loved it and would sing it's praises at every opportunity.
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As "outdated" as people tbought the RAF's ground attack Jaguar was, she was an extremely capable platform that outperformed many of her vastly more expensive peers....
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The most impressive video of a Jaguar I've ever seen was one taking off from a grass field. A supersonic jet taking off from a bumpy grass field. Mind blowing. The landing gear on that thing was insanely sturdy.
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One abiding memory I have of Op GRANBY was sitting under my cam net, sharing my coffee with the flies, while one of my bridgelayer crews was servicing its engines. This involved elevating the bridge to top dead centre (vertical). Suddenly a flight of Jags blasted past at zero feet, filled my mug with sand, dispersed the flies (briefly) and scared the living bejesus out of the AVLB Commander when one aircraft had to climb to clear his bridge. I never felt prouder of the boys in light blue than when I saw that display of force and flying skills.
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Vastly underrated aircraft
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Most efficient plane in the Gulf war. serviceability second to none and proven.
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The jaguar wasn't in the falkland War. It was only sea harriers and harriers and a few vulcan bomber missions
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On two occasions my unit was mock bombed while on maneuvers in Kuwait circa May 1993. I swear I could feel the heat from the engines as they peeled away. It's a chilling feeling to know you were already bombed before you knew they were there.
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A friend who flew jags during the Kosovo conflict and Afghanistan said that it was underpowered and with a full load of bombs, "il decolle parce que la terre est ronde." It takes off because the earth is round. But he said that it was the most stable firing platform, extremely versatile, and it had a huge inventory of compatible ordnance.
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A Jaguar landed on the M55 motorway when it was opened, in Lancashire.
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French Jaguar A was even more outdated during Desert Storm 😅 But they were equipped with the very good ATLIS II TV targeting pod (very good tracking allowing single pilot used), supersonic AS30L laser guided missiles and MATRA BGL400/1000 laser guided bomb. They strapped portable GPS on the dashboard, and this outdated attack aircraft became cutting edge 🤣🤣👌
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The Sepecat Jaguar also served in the IAF during Indo-Pak wars like the Kargil war.
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Good to see the Jag getting some recognition. It deserves praise. It's simply a good airplane.
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This aeroplane is special to me. I live in Norfolk, and my house that I have lived in since 1990 (still there today!) sits directly below the approach to RAF Coltishall where the Jaguar squadrons were based. For 16 glorious years when i was growing up, every day I would see Jaguars with their gear down lining up to land, one after the other. They flew over at very low level, very loud. I got to see this thousands of times and I never ever got bored of it. Now we occasionally get jets landing at Norwich airport and jets flying at high altitude, but I wish I could see a Jaguar one more time!
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Along with the Buccaneer, the Jag was a firm favourite of mine. Lovely, lethal aircraft.
