The recent mid-air collision of two US Navy E/A-18 Growlers in the United States last week demonstrated the importance of ejection seats as perhaps the most important part of pilot safety for fighter aircraft. At the same time the
Indian Air Force is now having struggle with spare parts of the aging Jaguar deep penetration strike aircraft in its service. The situation is especially dire as the Jaguar is the second most prolific fixed wing combat aircraft in the IAF service and currently six operational squadrons fly the aircraft.
The Air Force has continuously been upgrading the aircraft and some of these aircraft have been shifted to the DARIN-III standard. This upgrade has seen the infusion of relevant avionics up to modern standard, the aircraft was the first in the IAF to have the modern AESA radar. Although the air force was not been able to re-engine the aircraft as it had originally planned, the Honeywell F-125IN engine was even selected to be procured.
The Jaguar, first inducted in the early 1980s, is now the oldest serving aircraft in the IAF after the retirement of the MiG-21 Bison.
The Indian Air Force is also the only operator of the aircraft after its retirement by Ecuador, France, Nigeria, Oman and the United Kingdom. Thus making it difficult for the IAF to source parts for it as the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) France and UK no longer produce the aircraft and spares for the aircraft are running dry. India has been securing spares for the aircraft from other nations who have retired the aircraft. India has sourced Jaguar parts and airframes from France, Oman and the UK.
A major cause for worry for the Indian Air Force now is the depleting pool of spares for the crucial ejection seats, the Martin Baker Mk-9. This seat is the pilot's lifeline in a stricken aircraft and hence can't be compromised with. Martin Baker, the OEM, in this case has stopped making a considerable number of spare parts for this important piece of equipment.
The IAF is known to be using 3D printing amongst other techniques to keep the aircraft and its sub-systems operational. This is more important in the light of the fact that the Jaguar fleet has seen 10 crashes since June 2015 and three crashes in 2025 alone, leading to the loss of three pilots Squadron Leader Lokendra Singh, Flight Lieutenants Rishi Raj Singh and Siddhartha Yadav.
The air force is looking at domestic options to replace the Martin Baker Mk-9. The Chandigarh based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) has tested an indigenous ejection seat that could perhaps be tailored to be operated by the Jaguar, which are scheduled to be retired in a phased manner by 2035.
