Like everything else, fighters also have a lifetime and so does India’s deep penetration strike aircraft, Jaguar. But India’s jugaad is way ahead of times. India runs its aircraft well above their shell life with regular mid-life upgradations (MLU) programs. The Jaguar is now heading for its third MLU which incorporated DARIN III.
Three DARIN I Standard Jaguars have been upgraded to DARIN III Standard by HAL. It has received the IOC (Initial Operational Clearance) for the same. The satisfactory completion of IOC was announced by Deputy Chief of IAF, Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria who had flown the aircraft at HAL airport in Bengaluru.
About DARIN:
- DARIN (Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation) is going to be one of the notable features to be fitted in Jaguars.
- The DARIN III allows a pilot to feed in the co-ordinates of targets deep inside enemy territory.
- It also allows the Jaguar to carry new generation weapon.
- The upgrade also incorporates new state-of-the-art avionics architecture including the Open System Architecture Mission Computer (OSAMC), Fire Control Radar, Solid State Digital Video Recording System (SSDVRS), Autopilot with Alt Select & HNAV and Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF) and more.
- Earlier, Jaguar used the IRST (Infrared Search and Track) and OLS (Optical Locator Systems) to guide the aircraft.
- The total design and development covering system requirement capture, specification preparation, software, hardware, electrical and mechanical design and development were carried out indigenously at HAL’s Mission and Combat System Research and Design Centre (MCSRDC) and aircraft modification was done at Overhaul Division.
Originally used by the French Air Force and British Royal Air Force, DARIN I Standard Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft. It was used in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force and its fleet is based at the Ambala air force station.
