SEPECAT Jaguar

what is it?

The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. As of 2026, the Jaguar remains in service with only the Indian Air Force. Originally conceived in the 1960s as a jet trainer with a light ground attack capability, the requirement for the aircraft changed to include supersonic performance, reconnaissance and tactical nuclear strike roles.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 8.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,350 km/htop speed
• range 850 kmwithout refuelling
• size 15.7 tmax take-off weight
• built 543made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 58 years ago, in 1968.
• 🏎️Top speed is 10.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.1 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🏔️Can fly 1.6× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1968-09-08

introduced

1973

retired

2005

status

still flying

number built

543

role

attack aircraft

origin

🇫🇷 France

makers

Breguet Aviation, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Dassault Aviation, British Aircraft Corporation

engines

2× Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk.102

crew

1

length

16.8 m

wingspan

8.7 m

height

4.9 m

max take-off weight

15.7 t

top speed

1,350 km/h

range

850 km

ceiling

14,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.