Squadron Service - Arm?e de l'Air
Arm?e de l'Air Jaguar squadrons
| Unit | Base | Equipped | Disbanded |
| EC.3/3 Ardennes | Nancy/Ochey | ?? Mar 1977 | 01 Jun 1987 |
| EC.1/7 Provence | St Dizier/Robinson | 24 May 1973 | 01 Jul 2005 |
| EC.2/7 Argonne | St Dizier/Robinson | 11 Oct 1974 | 08 Jun 2001 |
| EC.3/7 Languedoc | St Dizier/Robinson | 14 Mar 1974 | 08 Jun 2001 |
| EC.4/7 Limousin | Istres/Le Tube | 01 Apr 1980 | 31 Jul 1989 |
| EC.1/11 Rousillon | Toul/Rosieres | 10 Oct 1975 | 31 Jul 1994 |
| EC.2/11 Vosges | Toul/Rosieres | 03 Nov 1976 | 31 Jul 1996 |
| EC.3/11 Corse | Toul/Rosieres | 07 Feb 1975 | 25 Jun 1997 |
| EC.4/11 Jura | Bordeaux/Merignac | 12 Dec 1978 | 30 Jun 1992 |
The 7emeEscadre de Chasse, which was then located at Nancy-Ochey, was selected to be the first operational unit to receive the Jaguar. Squadron 1/7 "Provence" and then 3/7 "Languedoc" were the first to receive the aircraft, replacing their ageing Mystere IVAs. Both units then moved to their new base at St Dizier . On June 19th 1973 the Jaguar officially entered service.
The initial two squadrons were joined by 2/7 "Argonne", which took over the training role. 1/7 and 3/7 were given a nuclear role. The wing was brought up to full strength in April 1980 by the addition of 4/7 "Limousin".
On July 24th 1974 a single Jaguar A from CEAM at Mont de Marsan, flown by Captain M. Gauthier, conducted the first live drop of an AN52 nuclear weapon over the Muroroa Atoll.
The second wing to form on the Jaguar was the 11emeEscadre de Chasse, based at Toul-Rosiers. EC 3/11 "Corse" was the first to convert from the F-100 in 1976. EC 1/11 "Roussillon" and EC 2/11 "Voseges" were also equipped with Jaguar in 1976.
The third and final wing was the 3emeEscadre de Chasse, which received the aircraft during 1977. Its single Jaguar squadron was 3/3 "Ardennes"; the other two squadrons in the wing were equipped with the Mirage III.
A fourth unit was added to the 11eme in 1978, being 4/11 "Jura", but this had its home base at Bordeaux.
The 11eme was tasked with the overseas support of French interests. EC 3/11 undertook the first operational overseas Jaguar deployment in 1977 when aircraft operated out of Senegal against Polisario guerillas in Mauritanian territory in former Spanish Sahara. Operation Lamentin was not a total success: two Jaguars were shot down in December 1977 and another on May 3rd 1978.
In April 1978, under Operation Tacaud, eight of the EC 3/11 Jaguars still based at Dakar were detached to N'Djamena in Chad to support the ailing Chadian government. A further twelve Jaguars from EC 2/11 arrived in late April 1978, but were unable to stem the tide: one was shot down by an SA-7 "Grail" on May 31st, another was lost in a reconnaissance flight on August 8th, a third in a collision on August 23rd and a fourth on October 14th. The French forces withdrew in 1980, leaving a weak government in control.
AdlA Jaguars took part in "Red Flag" exercises in Nevada in 1980 and 1982.
Another milestone for the Jaguar occured on January 19th 1984 when four fully-armed aircraft from EC 3/11, with tanker support, flew a non-stop reconnaisance mission (Operation Chevense) from Corsica to Beirut and back to demonstrate that the French units in the UN peackeeping force could call for a swift response if needed.
In June 1983 a civil war broke out in Chad, which the Libyans became involved in. The French government was obliged to intervene again to support the legitimate government against the rebels. Operation Mamba was born.
On August 12th 1983 four Jaguars from EC 4/11 "Jura" were made ready at Libreville in Gabon. Four others, plus three tankers, were at Djibouti. By August 21st, six other Jaguars from EC 3/11 "Corse" were stationed at N'Djamena. They went into action on September 2nd, buzzing rebel forces who were attacking Oum Chalouba.
On January 24th 1984 the rebel forces took a number of hostages, and two Jaguars, escorted by two Mirage F.1s, located a convoy near Torodoum. A second pair of Jaguars was given permission to attack the convoy. During the action one of the Jaguars was hit in its main hydraulic system. The pilot, Captain Michel Croci, managed to eject but was too close to the ground and was killed. In response to this incident, further Jaguars and other aircraft were sent to Chad. The French lost a further aircraft on April 16th 1984 when Commandant Bernard Voelckel flew his aircraft (A125) into a sand dune while on a reconnaissance mission. Eventually an agreement between the two sides led to the widthdrawal of the French aircraft by October 3rd 1984.
Soon after the French withdrawal, the Libyans began to construct a military airfield at Quadi Doum in northern Chad. This was completed in 1985, and was defended by Soviet-built SAMs and AAA. Early in 1986 the rebels again attacked government forces, and again French military forces were put on alert. By the middle of February 1986 twelve Jaguar As from EC 2/11, 3/11 and 4/11, plus other aircraft, were ready for action in Djibouti.
On February 16th the French launched the first mission of Operation Epervier. Eight Jaguars from EC 3/11 flew from Djibouti, with tanker and fighter support, and attacked the airfield at Quadi Doum. Six of the Jaguars, each carrying two 1200 litre tanks, a Phimat chaff dispenser, a Barracuda ECM pod and Lacroix tailcone flare dispenser dropped eighteen BAP-100 runway cratering munitions with great accuracy from low level, completely surprising the defenders and putting the runway out of action for several days. The other two Jaguars on the mission carried 1000lb retard bombs. All the aircraft returned to base.
On March 7th, following an air raid by Libyan MiG-21s and -23s, another strike was mounted by ten Martel-equipped Jaguars from EC 4/11 (or more likely EC 3/3 "Ardennes" as that unit was the Martel specialist) against the radar installations at Quadi Doum.
Another Jaguar crashed shortly after takeoff from Banjui airport in Djibouti on March 27th. The pilot ejected but the crippled Jaguar killed 21 people on the ground when it came down on the outskirts of the city.
During 1987 the fighting was virtually over, but Jaguars remained on detachment at Djibouti in case it flared up again.
The Jaguars assigned to EC 3/3 "Ardennes" were replaced with Mirage IIIs on June 1st 1987. EC 4/7 was disbanded on July 31st 1989.
Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the 11eme Escadre was placed on a standby footing to deploy to the Gulf on September 16th, but the first eight aircraft, under the command of Colonel Marc Amberg, did not actually deploy to the region until October 18th. These were followed by a further eight aircraft on October 21st. Their destination was the remote air base at Al Ahsa, a location about 80 miles south-west of Dharhran. The French deployment went by the name of Operation Daguet.
A further detachment of twelve Jaguars arrived in the region in early January 1991. All three of the 11eme Escadre's squadrons were now represented, with elements of EC 4/1 "Jura". Some of the pilots were from the 7eme Escadre. It appears that about 35 Jaguars were deployed altogether, but only 28 are thought to have been operational at any one time.
For self-defence, the French Jaguars relied on a Phimat or BOZ-103 flare/chaff dispenser under the starboard wing, and a Barracuda, Barem or Remora ECM pod under the port wing. Under each wing root there was a 56-cartridge Alkan 5020/5021 conformal flare and chaff launcher, and the tailcone held an 18-cartridge Lacroix flare dispenser. Unlike the RAF Jaguars they did not have the capability to carry over-wing AAMs like Sidewinder or Magic.
The central fuselage pylon was often employed carrying the ATLIS II laser-designator pod, or, if the pod wasn't carried, a 1200 litre fuel tank. Offensive weapons included the AS.30L air-to-surface missile, the Belouga grenade dispenser, slick 250lb and 500lb bombs, rocket launchers, and laser-guided bombs. Up to eighteen BAP-100 anti-runway rocket-powered bombs were also carried on occasion.
The first French mission took place on 17th January 2001, when 12 aircraft launched for a daylight attack on the "Scud" missile facility at the Ahmed Al Jaber airbase in Kuwait. The Jaguars laid down a number of Belouga grenade canisters from a height of only 100ft, and also launched some AS.30L missiles. Four aircraft took AAA damage, including one (A91) that was hit by an SA.7 missile. The pilot managed to put it down at the US base at Jubail, with the rear of the aircraft badly damaged. It was later crated up and returned to France.
The Jaguars' next mission, on January 18th, was flown at medium level to keep clear of the AAA. On this mission, twelve aircraft in three groups of four attacked a munitions dump at Ras Al Quilayah, on the coast 19 miles from Kuwait City. Four of the aircraft carried the AS.30L missile which were fired against storage hangers from an altitude of 4000ft. The other eight aircraft dropped 250lb bombs from 15000ft. The facility was re-attacked on January 19th. The weather put off further missions until January 22nd, when six aircraft launched AS.30Ls against Iraqi vessels. On the 23rd eight aircraft hit artillery positions with 250lb bombs.
On January 24th, following a political re-alignment in France, the Jaguar force began attacking targets in Iraq, flying two sorties per day. On these missions they were accompanied by Mirage F.1CRs, the latter providing the Jaguars with accurate navigation data. Targets at Tallil, Shaiba and Jalibah were hit, along with Repulican Guard positions.
On February 10th a number of AS.30Ls were fired at a number of bridges, but as the ground war neared attention turned to battlefield targets.
By the end of the war the French Jaguars had flown 615 combat sorties for 1088 hours, and had made 185 hookups with C-135FR tankers. The Jaguars began to return home on March 5th 1991.
During April 1991 elements of EC 3/11 arrived at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to provide an armed reconnaissance force, and to patrol the northern Iraqi no-fly zone under Operation Aconit. Five aircraft regularly flew both armed and tactical reconaissance missions. Two of the aircraft were configured to use the RP36P centreline recce pod as well as their internal Omera 40 camera. The Jaguar detachment gave up its reconnaissance duties in March 1994, being replaced by specialist Mirage F.1CR aircraft. The attack mission probably continued until the NFZ was wound up in March 2003.
In September 1991 the nuclear role assigned to EC 1/7 and 3/7 was withdrawn.
On June 30th 1992 EC 4/11 "Jura" was disbanded as a result of the end of the Cold War.
French Jaguars were involved in the support of the UN Protection Force in Bosnia-Hercegovinia under UN Resolution 781. The first deployment occured on April 6th 1993 with aircraft from EC11 deploying to Trevise Istrania airbase in Italy under Operation Cr?cerelle. Aircraft from EC 3/11 and EC 3/7 were also based at Rivolto. The main tasks of the Jaguars was to provide a stand-off precision capability with their AS.30L missiles, Precison bombing using guided and unguided weapons, and reconnaissance. The Jaguars also flew with GBU-12 laser-guided bombs for the first time (a standard Mk82 fitted with a Paveway II kit), which were compatible with the ATLIS II pod.
On June 4th 1993 a display at St Dizier marked the 20th anniversary of the Jaguar in L'Arm?e de l'Air service. A detachment of Jaguars was sent to Incirlik in the same month as partial replacements for the Mirage F.1CRs protecting the northern Iraqi no-fly zone.
Jaguar-A A83 from EC.1/11 crashed in Chad on August 22nd 1993, killing the pilot.
On June 24th 1994, as part of the UN humanitarian mission in Rwanda, ten Jaguars with Mirage F.1s and tankers were depoloyed to Kisangani Air Base near Goma to provide reconnaissance and air support (if required).
EC 1/11 "Roussillon" was disbanded on July 31st 1994.
On November 21st 1994 two EC11 Jaguars took part in the Operation Deny Flight attack on the Udbina air base in Serb-occupied Croation territory, dropping laser-guided bombs on runways and taxiways. At the end of 1994 there were four French Jaguars based at Istrana, with another four on standby at Toul if required. Operation Deliberate Force in September 1995, designed to force the Bosnian Serbs to the negotiating table, probably saw some participation from French Jaguars.
In December 1995 the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR) took over responsibility for policing the Dayton Peace accord in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
EC 2/11 "Vosges" was disbanded on July 31st 1996.
EC 3/11 "Corse" was disbanded on June 25th 1997.
Jaguar-A A97/7-HR from EC 1/7 crashed near Bar de Luc, France on February 24th 1999. The pilot ejected successfully.
In March 1999 six Jaguar As from EC7 were again deployed to Istrana in Italy under NATO Operation Allied Force, undertaken after negotiations with Serbia over Kosovo broke down. The French contribution was under Operation Trident. The Jaguars made their first attack on April 5th: two aircraft carried two 550lb GBU-12B Paveway II laser-guided bombs each, while two others carried the ATLIS II designator pod. The following day all six Jaguars were in operation, bombing targets in Kosovo during daylight hours.
The Jaguars were involved in a controversial incident on April 14th, when two convoys of refugees were attacked after they were mis-identified as Serb military units.
A further six Jaguars were deployed to Istrana in May 1999.
The NATO air operation finally ended on June 20th 1999, when the last Serbian forced withdrew from Kosovo, although Jaguars continued to be deployed to the Balkans until 2004.
On June 8th 2001 EC 2/7 "Argonne" and EC 3/7 "Languedoc" were disbanded, leaving EC 1/7 "Provence" as the only French squadron still equipped with the Jaguar. The six Jaguar Es assigned to CITac.339 "Aquitaine" were also retired.
On May 24th 2003 the 30th anniversary of the Jaguar was celebrated at St Dizier.
The final French AF Jaguar squadron, EC 1/7 "Provence", retired its last six Jaguars on July 1st 2005, thus bringing 32 years of Jaguar operations to an end. About 2000 French Air Force pilots flew the Jaguar, clocking up 730000 hours in the process.
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