Two aircraft of the the Indian Air Force (IAF) were involved in separate accidents on Friday.
In the first incident, a Jaguar fighter aircraft of the IAF crashed due to a technical defect during a routine training sortie on Friday. The pilot, a Flight Lieutenant, ejected safely and was later evacuated by the IAF.
The remains of the ill-fated aircraft fell in a hilly forest area near Raipur Rani in Panchkula district, close to the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border. The aircraft had taken off from the Ambala airbase.
Local villagers gathered around the spot and assisted the pilot in freeing himself from his parachute harness.
“A Jaguar aircraft of the IAF crashed at Ambala during a routine training sortie today, after encountering a system malfunction. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft away from any habitation on ground before ejecting safely. An inquiry has been ordered by the IAF to ascertain the cause of the accident,” an official statement by the IAF said.
The Ambala airbase in Haryana houses squadrons of Jaguar and the newly inducted Rafale aircraft, besides other ancillary units. It is the IAF’s oldest airbase.
There have been incidents involving the Jaguar in the past, with IAF sources saying that the fleet has suffered over 50 major and minor incidents in its 45-year service with the IAF, some of which have been fatal.
At present, the IAF operates around 120 twin-engine Jaguars, equipping six squadrons—Nos 5, 6, 14, 16, 27 and 224, based at Ambala, Jamnagar and Gorakhpur, forming a crucial element of its strike capability and tactical reconnaissance. Some Jaguars have also been modified for the maritime role with anti-ship missiles.
In 1979, 40 aircraft were imported from the UK, followed by licence manufacture of 150 aircraft by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, with aircraft rolling off the assembly lines as late as 2007. India is the sole remaining Jaguar operator, with other users—France, UK, Oman, Nigeria and Ecuador—having retired them.
The Jaguars were initially armed with the Matra R-550 Magic short-range air-to-air missile, employed in an unconventional position on over-the-wing pylons as a means of self-defence during strike missions.
A few years ago, the IAF began re-equipping the Jaguar with the DARIN-III advanced navigation and attack avionics suite, and earlier this year, initiated another project to re-equip the fleet with new generation close combat air-to-air missiles, transport platforms as well as cruise missiles and UAVs.
Recently, India procured 31 decommissioned Jaguar airframes from France and two each from the UK and Oman, along with several thousand aero-spares, to replace some aircraft lost due to attrition and ensure serviceability of the existing fleet.
AN-32 transport aircraft involved in 'serious accident'
In the second incident, an IAF AN-32 tactical transport aircraft met with a "serious accident" at Bagdogra airfield in the north-east on Friday.
“An accident involving an AN-32 transport aircraft at Bagdogra airport has come to light today. The crew are safe and the aircraft is being recovered from the site,” an IAF officer said.
The Russian-origin AN-32 is the backbone of the IAF's transport fleet. These can airlift about 4000 kgs load and are regularly used for air maintenance of forward areas in the northern and north-eastern sectors.
Recently, the fleet has gone in for an upgrade, with the first few aircraft being modernised in Ukraine and the remaining aircraft being upgraded by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in India.
About 120 AN-32s were procured by the IAF, equipping several squadrons based at various places across the country.
