- Yes, don’t care how
- Yes, as a researchable vehicle
- Yes, as a premium/event/squadron vehicle
- No
Hello and welcome to another suggestion for a French aircraft. In this post we will be looking at the late version of the Jaguar A, which features a couple of key upgrades over the version we see in-game.
The story of this version is obviously a continuation of the Jaguar A in-game. Recapping the history, the Jaguar was the result of a French Air Force request for a new training and support aircraft. Dassault answered to this call with its MD.610 Cavalier and Breguet came up with the Br.121. At the same time, the British Air Force was also looking for a new aircraft with a very similar role. The two nations decided to work together to develop the new aircraft, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was the result. The aircraft was a direct development of the Br.121 which had won the competition for being smaller and lighter. The Jaguar first took to the skies in 1968 in Istres, France. Deliveries began in 1973 for the French Air Force, and one year later for the British. The vehicle entered service in a couple of different versions. The Jaguar A single-seat attacker and Jaguar E trainer for France, and the Jaguar Gr.1 single-seat attacker and Jaguar B for Britain.
French Air Force Jaguars had a long an eventful service life, lasting up until 2004 when it was finally retired. In that time it took part in a variety of missions. Being deployed several times to perform counter-insurgency missions in African countries such as Mauritania and Chad. The Jaguars also took part in the First Gulf War where they became known for their accurate and effective strikes with their laser guided weaponry. After this the Jaguar slowly started to be taken out of service, it still took part in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s but that was its last major deployment.
But now let us finally talk about why this suggestion exists. You might think “The Jaguar A is already in game, why suggest it?”. However, we’re looking at a late variant with some upgraded equipment. From what I’ve heard and seen so far, there’s no plan from Gaijin’s end to implement these features on the existing Jaguar A, but a suggestion was welcomed, so here we are.
First of all, a rather important upgrade the French Jaguars received throughout their lifetime was the implementation of the R.550 Magic II missile (characterized by its opaque seeker, as can be seen on images in this post). As most of you will know, this is a significant upgrade over the Magic I, featuring a new all-aspect seeker and improved IRCCM. The addition of this missile would significantly increase the ability of the Jaguar to defend itself from enemy aircraft. In-game this would likely translate itself into a stock Magic I and researchable Magic II, something that would make the grind less painful than on the already present Jaguar A which gets no stock missiles.
Another upgrade that would be a huge improvement is the CLDP pod that is on the above image. This pod was tested on French Air Force Jaguar A’s in 1988 and was then also used to fire and guide the AS-30L missile, indicating that the pod was fully integrated. This targeting pod is the same pod that can currently be found on the Mirage 2000D-R1. This is an excellent high-definition targeting pod which, unlike the ATLIS II pod, has a thermal sight. This improvement will increase the effectiveness of the aircraft significantly as finding targets will be a lot easier.
General Characteristics
Crew: 1
Engine: 2x Turboméca, Adour Mk102 (up to 32,5kN of force each)
Width: 8,69 m
Length: 16,83m
Wing surface area: 24 m²
Max speed: 1700 km/h at 10.000m
Combat Range: 535km
Empty weight: 7.5 t
Max takeoff weight: 15 t
Systems
CCIP: Yes
CCRP: Yes
Flares/Chaff: Yes, in the same Alkan dispenser found on the current Jaguar A.
Radar: No
Targeting pod: Yes, CLDP featuring day and night modes which includes a thermal-imaging camera.
Weaponry
Guns:
- 2x 30mm DEFA 553
Air-To-Air missiles:
- 2x R.550 Magic I
- 2x R.550 Magic II
Dumb bombs:
- 250 kg SAMP Type 25
- 250 kg SAMP Type 25 200
- 400 kg SAMP Type 21
- 400 kg SAMP Type 21 200
Rockets:
- SNEB type 23
- TBA ECC
- TBA Multi-Dart 100 AB
Guided bombs:
- 400 kg BGL-400
- 970 kg BGL-1000
- GBU-12 Paveway II
Air-To-Ground missiles:
- AS-30L
Place in-game
The Late Jaguar A could come to the French tree as a ( preferably ) researchable vehicle. Ideally it would come after the Mirage 5F or even the F1CT as it outperforms both when it comes to ground-strike capabilities. The vehicle would offer players a CAS platform with a thermal-capable targeting pod and Magic IIs at a lower battle rating than the Mirage 2000D-R1. These upgrades will make the Jaguar A (late) a much improved CAS platform as the CLDP will allow players to more easily find and track enemy ground vehicles, while the Magic II helps in fending off air threats. This addition would nicely bridge the gap in capabilities between the current Jaguar A and the the Mirage 2000D-R1, and would finally give France a CAS platform with a thermal imager below battle rating 11.3. The vehicle would require little effort to implement while simultaneously being an attractive, interesting and powerful addition to players of the French Tree.
