IAF Jaguar Fighter Jet Crashes in Rajasthan, Second Incident This Year

A Jaguar fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed on Wednesday in Rajasthan’s Churu district, defence sources confirmed.

The jet went down near Ratangarh town, prompting immediate deployment of police teams to the crash site for assessment and search-and-rescue operations, However, an official statement from the IAF regarding casualties is still awaited.

This marks the second Jaguar crash involving the IAF in 2025. In April, another Jaguar went down during a routine training mission near the Jamnagar Air Force Station in Gujarat.

The aircraft crashed into an open field near Suvarda village, approximately 12 kilometres from Jamnagar city. At that time, officials reported that one of the two pilots ejected safely, while the other was found deceased by local villagers.

Designed in the 1960s, the Jaguar is among the oldest aircraft still in the IAF’s inventory, with India now the only country still operating the platform. Over the years, the fleet has suffered significant losses. By 2015, at least 50 crashes had been reported, resulting in the loss of 65 out of the original 140 aircraft—a staggering 46% attrition rate.

As of April 2025, the IAF’s Jaguar fleet stands at around 115 aircraft, with only 83 considered operational. This reflects a serviceability rate of approximately 72%.

The high crash rate—averaging around two incidents per year in recent times—is largely attributed to aging airframes and the challenging conditions under which the aircraft operate, including high-altitude missions, tropical humidity, and dusty environments.

Notable recent accidents include the March 7, 2025, crash in Panchkula, Haryana, reportedly caused by a system malfunction, and the April 2, 2025, crash near Jamnagar, in which Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav lost his life. Both incidents were linked to technical failures, underscoring growing concerns over the aging fleet’s reliability and safety.