The first accident involving the Jaguar happened in April 1981, when an aircraft on a low-level training flight was hit by a vulture

The crash of a Jaguar fighter aircraft in Rajasthan on Wednesday, in which two pilots were killed, is the third major accident involving this type of aircraft this year, and has again focused attention on the IAF’s ageing fleet and the challenges it faces in modernisation and sustainability.

The aircraft, an “IB” twin-seater trainer version, had taken off from Suratgarh airbase for a routine training mission and crashed in an agricultural field in Bhanoda village of Churu district around 1.25 pm.

“An IAF Jaguar trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission and crashed near Churu in Rajasthan today. Both pilots sustained fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported,” the IAF said. A Court of Inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Earlier this year, the IAF had lost a Jaguar from its Ambala airbase in March, though the pilot had ejected, and another IB version from Jamnagar in April, in which one of the pilots, a Flight Lieutenant, was killed and the other was seriously injured. The Jaguar forms the core of IAF’s deep penetration strike element.

There have been accidents involving the Jaguar in the past, with IAF sources saying that the fleet has suffered close to 60 major and minor incidents in its 45-year service with the Air Force, with about two dozen airframes being written off and 17 pilots losing their lives so far.

The first accident involving the Jaguar happened in April 1981, when an aircraft on a low-level training flight was hit by a vulture. This was followed by the first fatal crash in May 1982, when a Jaguar flew into a hill, killing its pilot, a Flight Lieutenant.

The worst year for the fleet, perhaps, was 1999, when five incidents involving the Jaguar were reported. In 2004, four incidents were reported while three incidents each were reported in 1984, 1995 and 2018. Some years have also been incident free for the fleet.

In recent years, according to IAF officers, sustainability of the fleet and maintenance have become a cause for concern and ageing has made it prone to technical failure. Experts estimate that roughly 60 per cent of the fleet remains serviceable at any given time.

The aircraft’s underpowered Rolls Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk 881 engines is another issue and the IAF’s move to re-equip the aircraft with a more powerful Honeywell engine did not make any headway due to cost factors.

Barring a lone surviving squadron of the MiG-21, the Jaguar is now the oldest fighter aircraft in the IAF’s inventory. 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.

At present, the IAF operates around 114 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.

The Jaguars were initially armed with the Matra R-550 Magic short range air-to-air missile, 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.

Though the IAF has not disclosed the aircraft employed to carry out precision strikes in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May this year, it is believed that Jaguars may have taken part. The IAF now plans to modify 112 Jaguars for launching High Speed Low Drag (HSLD) Mark-II bombs, a family of guided munitions developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

The first indigenously designed diving support vessel that can carry out deep-sea rescue operations has been delivered to the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam.

The warship, that is named Nistar, is specialised to undertake ‘deep sea diving and rescue operations – a capability with select navies across the globe.

It has the capability to undertake ‘deep sea diving up to 300 metres depth. The ship also has a side diving stage for undertaking diving operations up to 75 metres depth.

The ship will also serve as the ‘Mother Ship’ for the deep submergence rescue vessel (DSRV) to rescue and evacuate personnel, in case of an emergency in a submarine underwater.

The ship is equipped with a combination of remotely operated vehicles to undertake diver monitoring and salvage operations up to a depth of 1,000 metres.

The ship’s name, ‘Nistar’, originates from Sanskrit and means liberation, rescue or salvation. The ship, measuring 118 metres with a tonnage of nearly 10,000 tonnes, is installed with state-of-the-art diving equipment, the Indian Navy said.

The Nistar has nearly 75 per cent indigenous content and is line with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the Make in India campaign.

Director General (DG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), GP Singh, on Wednesday conducted a detailed review of the security arrangements at the Nunwan base camp in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Nunwan base camp is one of the two routes for the Amarnath Yatra, which is already underway in Kashmir.According to the CRPF, the DG travelled from Jammu to Srinagar via the Amarnath Yatra route and reviewed the security preparedness first-hand.

At Chanderkote village in Ramban, he interacted with officers of the J&K Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), gaining valuable insights into the coordinated security grid, the CRPF said on X.

At Lamber in Banihal, the DG CRPF reviewed the arrangements made by the 166 Battalion, CRPF, to “ensure a secure and spiritually fulfilling experience for the devotees.”

CRPF said on Wednesday that as part of his journey along the Amarnath Yatra route, the DG CRPF carried out a detailed review of the security setup at the Nunwan Base Camp, Pahalgam—“reinforcing CRPF’s active role in ensuring a safe and smooth pilgrimage for all devotees.”

At the headquarters of the 116 Battalion in Pahalgam, where he stayed overnight, the DG engaged “in an informal interaction with the troops, highlighting the importance of the yatra and our collective responsibility to make every devotee feel secure and at ease.”

“He appreciated the personnel for their alertness, professionalism and sense of purpose in service,” the CRPF said. During his road journey, the CRPF chief also met the pilgrims and inquired about their well-being.

“He made efforts to understand their experiences and suggestions regarding the facilities and security arrangements provided during the Yatra,” the CRPF said, adding that the pilgrims appreciated the efforts of the CRPF along with all security forces.

The DG CRPF also directed officials to immediately act on some positive suggestions provided by the pilgrims, the CRPF said. The pilgrimage to the holy cave began on July 3 from the Valley. There are two Yatra routes—the traditional Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter Baltal route in Ganderbal district. The yatra will conclude on August 9.

Over one lakh pilgrims have already paid obeisance at the holy cave, according to officials.

Even as global institutions unravel — the WTO weakened, UN muted, climate compacts gamed — India remains composed.

Lt Gen SS Mehta (Retd)

Op Sindoor message: India will not be baited into China-Pak’s games of escalation, but neither will it flinch. PTI

IN an age of rising tensions and retreating truths, India nears 80 years of freedom with quiet deliberation. Our trail is a record that needs retelling — even as we envision our hundredth, not by expanding power but by deepening purpose.

While others scramble for dominance, India holds its course — anchored not in ideology, but in a civilisational ethic we call youmanship (not misspelt): dharmaniti — a steady code of national conduct, shaped by memory, guided by proportion and rooted in restraint. It is not a slogan; it is how we act even when unseen and how we stop despite all eyes being on us. This ethic is drawn from our oldest vocabulary.

The world wobbles under war and warning. Gaza bleeds; Ukraine attrits; Iran and Israel test thresholds. Trade has turned coercive. Climate virtue is weaponised. Technology is both tool and threat. Nuclear restraint, once sacred, now slips casually into rhetoric. The UN remains paralysed. The P5 act only when interests align. The very architecture that promised balance has long been wired to exclude by design.

Our choices, from 1948 to 2025, tell a consistent story. We stopped at the doorstep of Lahore, returned Haji Pir, and did not capture Muzaffarabad, even in pursuit. We retook Kargil without crossing the line. We liberated Dhaka and repatriated 90,000 prisoners of war, who were treated generously under the Geneva Conventions. We went to the Maldives and Sri Lanka on invitation. On nuclear matters, we uphold the principle of No First Use (NFU) without brinkmanship. In each case, India had the force to go further, but had a greater intent to not abandon proportion. Where others retreat unfinished, India ends with clarity and conviction.

In 1962, the Hindi-Chini-bhai-bhai bonhomie dissolved into coercion when China, an ancient civilisation with whom we sought peaceful coexistence, chose deception over dialogue. The war was swift. When the dust settled, one did ask: what did China gain by forsaking civility and what did it lose by discarding the coexistence ethic? The trust was broken.

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Lord Curzon, delivering a Romanes lecture on ‘Frontiers’ at Oxford in 1907, remarked that “there is more to be got from unsettled borders than settled.” A century later, China seems to have absorbed that creed and weaponised it.

Today, with India’s restraint tested and resolve demonstrated, China finds itself not leading, but gaming a role — that of the heir apparent of proxy coercion. Operation Sindoor was the first instance to call that bluff. It was also a message to China and its proxy Pakistan: that India will not be baited into their games of escalation, but neither will it flinch. The elephant remembers. And from memory, it calibrates with proportion, not provocation.

India’s rise has not followed the Palmerstonian playbook of eternal interests and expendable allies. It has preferred consistency over coercion. In an era when deterrence becomes a spectacle and alliances turn transactional, India stands for balance — not because it is easy, but because it is right.

Our global posture reflects this ethic. We engage in multi-dimensional alignments, not dependence. We advocate reform in trade, tech and climate governance — not for power, but for fairness. We pursue peace, even as we prepare for war. India does not claim to be a pole. It offers something rarer: a fulcrum; not a location, but a principle.

Where the world tilts, India steadies. When others provoke, we calibrate. In Ukraine and Iran, we called for de-escalation — not out of distance, but deliberate neutrality. As superpowers create polarity, India seeks multi-polarity.

The high table rarely seats the consistent and the steady — it rewards the pliable.

Even as global institutions unravel — the WTO weakened, UN muted, climate compacts gamed — India remains composed. It absorbs turbulence without amplifying it. Its ambition: conscience, not conquest. This is restraint as realism. India does not just echo the past, it scripts the future. And in that future, it must serve as the anchor for the Global South. If G7 marks weight, then G20 must reflect conscience. India is its natural centre — not because it demands to lead, but because it refuses to abandon proportion.

As the world stumbles toward 2047, what it needs is not more grand funerals, but a moral core; a conscience; a fulcrum. Not Munir’s divisive death served for dinner; not Netanyahu’s doctrine of displacement; not Zelenskyy’s comedy turning into a European tragedy; not Russia clinging to a Tsarist nightmare; not China walking the Curzon line to slice and grab the Himalayas, now with proxies. And certainly not Trump — disrupting democracies, gaming institutions and emboldening proxies in every theatre.

India has faced its provocations too — but it has not yielded to vendetta or vacillation. It held the line.

In the global memoryscape, where one civilisation remembers, another feigns forgetfulness. India, like the elephant, carries a long memory — of betrayal and forbearance, of alliances honoured and lines never crossed. China, like the dragon, chooses amnesia — testing boundaries once respected, rewriting understandings once shared. But memory matters. It is the moral ledger of history. And while the elephant moves slowly, it does not forget.

At the heart of this quiet confidence is its youth: calloused in hand, agile in mind, wired for innovation and rooted in civilisational morality. They ask for no crutches. They seek no validation. They script a signal all their own — seeking only that their talent be tapped.

India does not want to be the pole. It chooses to be the fulcrum — the unseen balance that steadies a splintering world. And nowhere is this clearer than in our National Anthem. Jana Gana Mana is not a chant of supremacy; it is a symphony of belonging. It is the evocation of this idea that makes India the fulcrum.

Restraint is a measure. A world order that does not recognise restraint will soon exhaust its capacity for recovery.

Let the UN@80 debate this and ask: what did we overlook? And who paid the price? It is a climactic call for global introspection.

Lt Gen SS Mehta (Retd) is ex-Western Army Commander and Founder Trustee, Pune International Centre.

Says if Sikh history is correctly recorded, the history of Hindus would be automatically corrected; Hindus and Sikhs are one

India’s largest central university, the University of Delhi, will from the upcoming academic session, offer a dedicated course on Sikh history for the first time ever.

Called, “Sikh Martyrdom in Indian History (1500-1765)”, the undergraduate course will cover a wide range of events spanning Sikh history – from the military history of the warrior race, its resistance to Mughal rule, sacrifices of Sikh Gurus and their children and the role of Gurus.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune about the course today, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh lamented that while Indian varsities had no qualms teaching Iqbal, the poet who spent a better part of life opposing India and propagating the idea of Pakistan, they were not teaching the sacrifices of Sikh gurus, their children and of other Sikh warriors.

“People rarely know anything about the historical personalities after whom landmarks like SAS Nagar (Mohali) in Punjab or Banda Singh Bahadur Setu in New Delhi are named. The sons of Guru Gobind Singh sacrificed their lives, Banda Bahadur, the chief of Khalsa Army endured untold sufferings fighting for righteous causes. The fact that we did not teach these stories of valour all these years is a problem. At the DU, we are correcting this wrong,” Singh said.

The V-C added that correct recording of Sikh history would automatically mean correct recording and perspective of the history of Hindus.

“Sikh aur Hindu ek hi baat hai (Sikhs and Hindus are one). We share our culture and are not apart. We are as they are. The Sikh Gurus are our Gurus,” he said, adding that the traditions, sacrifices of Sikh Gurus and their children would be taught in the new general elective course to be available to undergraduate students across all semesters.

The DU plans to hire independent experts of Sikh history to teach the course in the first few years until internal capacities are developed.

Singh said the objective behind the course was to celebrate national heroes and inspire current generations in the tenets of sacrifice and service.

“Iqbal who wrote ‘Saare Jahan Se Achha’ continues to be taught even though he spent his entire life opposing India. He was MA Jinnah’s adviser. We are glorifying those who opposed India and not teaching those who saved us, our culture, our traditions,” said Yogesh Singh.

Third such incident involving fleet this year; court of inquiry constituted

Tribune News Service

Two IAF pilots were killed in a Jaguar fighter jet crash in Rajasthan on Wednesday. This was the third crash involving the Jaguar in the past four months.

The IAF has so far not released the names of the dead pilots. It said a Jaguar trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission and crashed near Churu in Rajasthan. The aircraft had taken off from Suratgarh in Rajasthan.

A trainer aircraft has two pilots — one is a trainer with years of flying experience while the other is a young IAF pilot, finetuning his skills.

Both pilots sustained fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported.

In a statement, the IAF said it deeply regretted the loss of lives and stood firmly with the bereaved families in this time of grief.

A court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident.

This is the third Jaguar crash this year. On March 7, a Jaguar went down near Ambala during a routine sortie. The pilot was able to eject safely.

On April 3, another Jaguar crashed at Jamnagar in Gujarat. The pilot, Flt Lt Siddharth Yadav, died in the crash that occurred due to a technical glitch in the aircraft.

The Jaguar jets were inducted into the IAF in 1979. The twin-engine fighter aircraft forms an important part of India’s nuclear triad.

Countries such as the UK, France, Ecuador, Nigeria and Oman, which once had Jaguars in their fleet, have retired these long ago, with some jets put on display in air museums.

The IAF, too, is expected to begin phasing out its older Jaguar models after 2027-28.

Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has for the first time introduced the concept of state sponsorship of terrorism, in what is a boost for India’s case against Pakistan’s proxy wars.

A latest report, “Comprehensive Update on Terrorist Financing Risks”, released by FATF on Tuesday states that a variety of publicly available sources of information and delegations’ inputs indicate that certain terrorist organisations have been and continue to receive financial and other forms of support from several national governments.

While FATF has not developed a typology specific to state-sponsored terrorism, it has explicitly noted that the funding of terrorism, or the resourcing of a terrorist entity, by any state violates the task force’s norms.

“The possibility that states may provide financial or other forms of support to organisations engaging in terrorist acts is a longstanding threat to international peace and security. It undermines the effectiveness of FATF activities that were intended to support governments in adopting best practices to detect, deter and disrupt terror financing,” the FATF report states in an acknowledgment of India’s stand on state sponsorship of terror by Pakistan in the wake of April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

⁠Before FATF’s latest report, India had identified state-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan as a source of terrorist-financing risk in its risk assessment report for 2022. “So, FATF’s introduction of state sponsorship of terrorism reinforces India’s position,” government sources today said, flagging the report that further highlights the funding patterns of Pakistan-based LeT and JeM.

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Foreign military officials joke that Djibouti’s airspace is so crowded with drones and surveillance aircraft that you need a reservation to fly. Red Sea: Pivotal zone for trade, transportation, and power play. Spanning from Suez Canal to Bab el Mandeb Strait, Red Sea connects Mediterranean Sea to Indian Ocean. Its proximity to key markets and natural resources enhances its importance. Red Sea’s Cocktail of Geopolitics • Saudi Arabia, long coastline along the Red Sea – a pivotal role in shaping regional dynamics. • Egypt, controls the Suez Canal, has strategic leverage over Red Sea’s northern access. • Israel and its military capabilities keep geopolitics of the region well spiced up. • Yemen is facing a humanitarian crisis as its civil war enters the 11th year. The Houthis keep the Red Sea on the boil and world shipping in a tailspin; asymmetric warfare at its best. • Somalia is in internal conflict and pirates prowling the Indian Ocean its byproduct. • Eretria, a closed and repressive country in the world is in a simmering conflict with Ethiopia. A ‘cherry’ to this ‘Horn of Africa’ cocktail is Djibouti – a tiny country sitting astride the strategic Bab el Mandeb. Interestingly, it has many military bases of the different friendly and conflicting/competing nations (USA, China, Japan, Italy and France). Its strategic importance? Well, just location ….. location …. location ….. location. Djibouti is gifted with this strategic geographic location at the intersection of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ….. with a land area of 23,200 km² roughly equivalent to the size of Delhi NCR. ….. by shrewd polity it has given itself an outsized influence. Djibouti ports handle 95% of landlocked Ethiopia’s trade. Djibouti’s ports also service transshipments between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The government has longstanding ties to France, which maintains a military presence in the country, as do the US, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain, and China; playing all sides masterfully. Military Bases in Djibouti: France: 1,500 soldiers performing counter-terrorism missions and guarding nearby sea lanes.

In Djibouti since before its independence in 1977 and have never left. Annual Rent – $30 Million. United States: Camp Lemonnier the primary base for the US Africa Command. Includes 1,000 soldiers from the Special Forces. Drones launched from the base strike the sites of Al-Shabaab group in Somalia and East Africa, and, other extremist organisations. Annual Rent – $63 Million. China: China has a military base 5 km west of Djibouti City. It is affiliated with the Navy and is essential for developing Chinese capabilities on the high seas. China also building ports and railways. Annual Rent – $100 Million. Opening ceremony of China’s military base in Djibouti 2017. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force base located here. Japanese Parliament in 2009 approved Anti Terrorism Law, which allowed such deployments. Annual Rent – $14 Million. Germany/Spain/Italy: Forces from these countries active from within other bases, primarily French and American. The military infrastructure provided is used in a joint framework to prevent piracy and smuggling and ensure safe passage of commercial ships through Bab al-Mandab. Djibouti is also a critical landing point for undersea cables including the cable linking India to Europe and Africa. Lessons from Djibouti • Positional leverage — especially at maritime chokepoints. • Deft diplomatic balancing – hosting so many nations but not becoming their proxy. • Influence is not always about size or firepower – it is also about positioning, perception, and partnerships.

Rs 240K crore projects in the pipeline to bolster Navy’s capability, next-generation frigates to be built indigenously

NEW DELHI: Approximately 17 warships and nine submarines of the Indian Navy are currently undergoing various stages of approval, according to sources on Sunday. This is in addition to the existing fleet of 61 warships and submarines, which are at various stages of construction. The newly approved vessels are slated for domestic construction.

According to the sources, “Request for Proposal of the Rs 70,000 crore project 17 B, for construction of seven Next Generation Frigates, along with the project to construct two Multi Purpose Vessels” is likely to be out soon.

“Project 75-India (I) and Project 75 (add-ons) are under advanced stages of the Cost Negotiation being done by the Committee (Cost Negotiation Committee-CNC),” added the source.

Project 75-I is for the construction of six modern submarines, with an estimated cost of Rs 70,000 crore. Project 75 (add-ons) is for the construction of three Scorpene-class submarines, costing approximately Rs 36,000 crore.

Another project, with a construction cost of approximately Rs 36,000 crore, belonging to the eight Next Generation Corvettes (NGC), is in the pipeline. These will result in a cumulative cost of over Rs 240,000 crore once approved.

The Indian Navy’s planning is based on capability and capacity building, rather than threat perception, which may change over time, according to Commodore Anil Jai Singh (Retd), a defence analyst.

“The addition of warships and submarines is for the replacement of the old platforms with those equipped with modern and improved technologies. These additions are also to cater for renewals,” Commodore Singh added.

The addition of new capital ships and boats is significant, as the Chinese PLA Navy, with 355 warships and submarines, has become the largest navy in the world, with an increased presence in maritime bodies around the globe, including the Indian Ocean. India Navy’s total fleet strength is over 130.https://5df95abb9f82273544c629f59baf552f.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-45/html/container.html?n=0

Additionally, there are concerns that Indian Navy platforms are reaching obsolescence; therefore, the new additions, as noted by Commodore Singh, should not only replace the older ones but also increase the overall numbers.

The submarine’s underwater fighting capabilities, even after the addition of six indigenously manufactured Scorpene-class submarines, are plagued by obsolete boats (submarines). Although new boats have been added and new projects are in the pipeline, the Indian Navy’s submarine arm has been plagued by obsolescence and is currently operating 12 vintage submarines.

Another glaring absence among the projects under construction and those in the pipeline is the destroyers, emphasised Singh.

The Indian Navy commissioned the Delhi Class destroyers in 1997 and they in the age group of 25 years and with major overhaul and repairs these can be kept operational for another 10-15 years but, “Unless the Project for their replacements are planned today, having a gestation period of more than 7-8 years we may see decline in their numbers in future thus bringing the gaps.”

The destroyers are versatile ships capable of carrying out offensive and defensive operations on the surface, sub-surface, and in the air. The Indian Navy aims to have a 175-ship fleet by 2035.