SEPECAT/Intelani Aeronautics SA-81B Jaguar

The SEPECAT Jaguar was one of the first multinational aircraft programs, and, like many cooperative programs, went through a long process of compromise and production before emerging to its end form. The Jaguar has its origins in a British requirement in the early 1960s for a fast jet trainer to replace the Folland Gnat and two-seat versions of the Hawker Hunter. At the same time, France was also looking for a fast jet trainer, with a good secondary attack capability, to replace the T-33 Shooting Star, the Mystere IV, and the Magister.

 

Eventually, BAC and Breguet submitted the winning designs, with the French providing the basic airframe (the Breguet Br.121) and landing gear, and BAC providing the wings and tail. Even the engines were to be a cooperative venture: since the British requirement was for a supersonic aircraft, the Br.121’s Turbomeca Tourmalet engine was not powerful enough, and Turbomeca cooperated with Rolls-Royce to produce the superb Adour engine. To produce the Jaguar, BAC and Breguet formed SEPECAT (Européenne de Production de l'Avion d'École de Combat et d'Appui Tactique), and the aircraft was well on its way. The first Jaguar prototype flew in September 1968, with the first French Jaguar A and the first British Jaguar S following in 1969.

The situation abruptly changed in 1971 with Breguet’s acquisition by Dassault. Dassault had no interest in the Jaguar, and attempted to cancel the entire program in favor of the Mirage F.1 and Super Etendard. With the Jaguar in danger, it would be Germany that would rescue it. Germany had expressed an interest in the Jaguar, as the Luftwaffe lacked a supersonic strike aircraft. The Jaguar S was modified to meet this requirement, and although Germany would decide not to buy the Jaguar, the RAF suddenly had the tactical strike aircraft they had needed. The role for the Jaguar was changed, with RAF Jaguar S (redesignated Jaguar GR.1) replacing the Phantom FGR.2 in the strike role; the trainer role would eventually be given to the British Aerospace Hawk. For the French, the Jaguar A was sufficiently advanced enough, and coupled with the failure of the Mirage G, the Jaguar A would eventually go into production as well.

 

Both the RAF and the Armee de l’Air intended to use the Jaguar to deliver tactical nuclear bombs, where its high speed, smooth handling at low level, and range would be advantages. (For a comparatively small aircraft, the Jaguar had excellent range for a tactical fighter, with only the much larger F-111 having longer loiter time.) As NATO strategy shifted away from nuclear warfare, the Jaguar GR.1 would be used as a strike aircraft, especially against airfields, while the French adapted it to the SEAD Wild Weasel role. As the Jaguar International, the aircraft was marketed abroad, leading to the air forces of Oman, Nigeria, Ecuador, and India adopting it; India would field the unique Jaguar IM, which was equipped with a Agave radar for the antishipping role.

 

By the time of the First Gulf War of 1991 against Iraq, neither the Jaguar GR.1s nor the Jaguar As still could drop precision weapons, forcing them to be escorted by either Buccaneers or Mirage F.1s; they still excelled in the tactical and antishipping role, and no Jaguars were lost, though a French Jaguar A was heavily damaged. The RAF upgraded its Jaguars to GR.3 standard in 1993, finally giving them the laser designators they needed, as well as other upgrades. The Bosnia and Kosovo wars turned out to be the Jaguar’s swan song: the RAF withdrew its Jaguars in 2007 in favor of the Typhoon, while France retired its aircraft in 2005 in favor of the Rafale. India, Ecuador, and Oman still fly their Jaguars, with India embarking on an update to keep their Jaguars in service until 2015.

 

(That part was real, the next few paragraphs aren't:)

 

With Germany’s withdrawal from the Jaguar project in 1973, the newly-formed FIRAF expressed an interest in the project. Minister of Defense Akela Canis was planning the long-term formation of the FIRAF, and the Jaguar looked like a good choice in the tactical strike role. At the same time, Intelani Aeronautics had been formed at Twin Peaks, and wanted to “ease into” production of advanced aircraft before attempting their own. With Dassault only reluctantly producing Jaguars, the relative simplicity of the aircraft once more seemed like a good “starter kit,” as Canis put it, for IA.

 

However, Canis had second thoughts about the Jaguar: while a good aircraft, he already had plans for the tactical strike role to be fufilled either by the Saab Viggen or the F-16 Falcon, both of which had radar and true multirole capability, which the Jaguar lacked. One area that the FIRAF lacked, however, was a tactical reconnaissance aircraft, as Canis did not want to buy the more costly RF-4E Phantom II at the time. IA, in response to a request from Canis, produced a mockup Jaguar nose with cameras. Given the Jaguar’s ability at low level and its range, this satisfied Canis’ desire for reconnaissance, though he was concerned about the Jaguar’s lack of a radar. IA solved this problem by obtaining a license to build the Elta M-2021 ranging radar used on the Kfir C.2; while nowhere near the standard of radars used on more advanced aircraft, the M-2021 was small enough to fit in the Jaguar’s nose without a major redesign.

 

With full approval, IA first produced two SA-81A Jaguar prototypes (which were essentially French Jaguar As), then began production of the baseline SA-81B, with the FIRAF placing an order for 33 SA-81Bs and three SA-81C two-seat trainers. In the end, it was decided that the two-seat trainer was not needed, and the three two-seaters were converted to SA-81Bs on the production line. Overall, the SA-81B was based closely on the Jaguar GR.1, but with a redesigned nose section equipped with two KA-87 low-altitude cameras, a KA-91 panoramic camera, and a KS-87 oblique camera. The M-2021 radar took the place of the laser ranger on the Jaguar GR.1, though the SA-81B still retained the former’s “chisel-nose” profile. With the success of the Jaguar International’s overwing Sidewinder rails, these were retrofitted to the SA-81B on the line.

 

The first SA-81B entered service with the FIRAF in September 1979. With the Third World War on the horizon in early 1984, the FIRAF placed an “emergency” order for an additional 24 Jaguars, so that the FIRAF would have five squadrons’ worth by 1985. War broke out before then, but the order was fufilled.

 

The SA-81B formed the backbone of the FIRAF’s tactical reconnaissance squadrons during the war, supplemented by the RF-4CS Phantom II. Considered elite units, the SA-81B squadrons were often called upon for the highly dangerous post-strike reconnaissance missions against alerted targets, and likewise operated at night and in bad weather. Unlike the USAF’s RF-4Cs, the FIRAF’s Jaguars went on their missions fully armed, with Sidewinders and occasionally rocket pods; the SA-81B retained the twin Aden 30mm cannon of the Anglo-French Jaguars.

 

Faced with a choice of using the SA-81B or the RF-4CS at the end of the war, the FIRAF chose to remain with the SA-81B despite the design being slightly older, as it was cheaper and more popular. As part of postwar drawdowns and the arrival of the SR-71A Blackbird, the Jaguar force was rationalized at two squadrons of 24 aircraft, with the retirement of high-time aircraft and storage of the remainder. The First Gulf War of 1991 showed that 24 SA-81Bs was inadequate for the FIRAF’s needs, and so 12 aircraft were brought out of storage and refurbished to form a third squadron.

 

The other lesson of Operation Desert Storm was that the Jaguar was beginning to show its age, and Intelani Aeronautics offered an upgrade. The proposed SA-81C was to have integrated GPS (Jaguar pilots had used handheld GPS sets during Desert Storm), HOTAS, and a wide-angle HUD to replace the narrow one hurriedly retrofitted during the Third World War. The biggest addition, however, was an underfuselage pallet that carried additional fuel, a combined datalink/fax (allowing for instantaneous downloading of images taken in real-time by the SA-81C), and the enormous LR-1 LOROP camera. This had a minor impact on the Jaguar’s performance, but the tradeoff was considered worth it. All surviving SA-81Bs underwent the C upgrade, which also formed the basis for the RAF’s Jaguar GR.3 upgrade. SA-81Cs were used over Bosnia.

 

Despite the upgrade, however, the Jaguar was simply getting old, and intensive use were starting to lead to fatigue cracks; the last SA-81B had left the production line in 1988, and replacement parts were getting scarce. The decision was made to retire the venerable and well-loved Jaguar in 1995, to be replaced by the RF-18C Hornet over a period of three years. The last four Jaguars left the FIRAF in March 1998, to be retired to museums, gate guards, and AMARC for scrapping.

 

(Back in the real world...)

 

This "SA-81B" was slightly modified from the Academy 1/144 Jaguar GR.1--"camera windows" were added to the nose, and overwing missile rails were kitbashed as well. Its armament consists of two drop tanks, two Matra rocket pods, and two AIM-9L Sidewinders. It is painted in a desert scheme of overall light gray and medium brown, with the insignia of my fictional "Free Intelani Air Force" and the "4th Reconnaissance Squadron's" flying bee on the tail. It also carries the name "Pink Cadillac" on the nose. All of these markings were done with a ballpoint pen, which is less fun than it sounds.

Done