IAF's Jaguar fighter jet crashes in Rajasthan

RAJASTHAN: A twin-seater Jaguar fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed earlier today near Churu district in Rajasthan, India.

According to ANI, the aircraft had taken off from the Suratgarh air base with two pilots onboard.

According to defence sources, Indian Air Force helicopters were immediately dispatched to the crash site to assist in rescue and investigation operations.

More details about the condition of the pilots and the cause of the crash are awaited.

This marks the third incident involving a Jaguar fighter jet in recent months. In April, a two-seater Jaguar fighter jet crashed shortly after taking off from the Jamnagar Airfield during a night training mission.

The IAF reported that the aircraft suffered a technical failure mid-flight. One of the pilots, Siddharth Yadav, tragically lost his life due to injuries sustained during the ejection, while the second pilot was injured but survived.

Just a month earlier, in March, another Jaguar fighter jet went down near Ambala in Haryana. Fortunately, the pilot ejected safely, avoiding serious injury.

The Jaguar fighter jet has served the Indian Air Force for decades, mainly in ground attack and reconnaissance roles.

The Indian Air Force is expected to release an official statement once preliminary investigations into the latest Jaguar fighter jet crash are completed.

The crash occurred recently, and India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has submitted its preliminary report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other concerned authorities, as the investigation into the Ahmedabad plane crash gains momentum.

The report is based on initial findings related to the Air India Flight AI-171 crash.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the aircraft’s front black box was safely retrieved, with its memory module accessed and data downloaded at the AAIB laboratory in Delhi on June 25, 2025.