Jaguar crashes in Jamnagar, pilot safe

A Jaguar deep penetration fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed shortly after taking off from the Jamnagar airbase on Friday afternoon. Initial reports indicate that the fighter developed a technical snag, following which the pilot safely ejected. No damage was reported on the ground as the fighter crashed in the vicinity of the airbase.

This is the eight crash reported by IAF since January this year. A similar Jaguar ground strike fighter went down in Pokharan in January. The British aircraft, first inducted in 1979, have gone through several upgrades in recent years and are also deployed in an anti-shipping role.

According to figures quoted in Parliament, seven Jaguars have crashed since 2003, mostly due to technical defects.