NEW DELHI: To sustain the operational capability of the IAF’s aging Jaguar squadrons, India is set to acquire nine decommissioned combat aircraft from the UK. “Nine twin-engine retired aircraft of the Royal Air Force are being acquired that will be dismantled to be used as a source of spare parts for the IAF’s Jaguar squadrons,” a source told TOI. India will use these decommissioned aircraft to use their sub-assemblies like Adour engines, avionics, landing gear and hydraulics for its own six Jaguar squadrons in order to keep the latter airborne for some more years.India’s SEPECAT Jaguar fleet, locally nicknamed ‘Shamsher’ (Sword of Justice), consists of roughly 120 active aircraft operated by the IAF. Designed for low-level interdiction and deep precision strikes, India is notably the last major operator of this jet globally. The Jaguar’s rugged design, long range, heavy weapon performance and weapons payload, proven performance in contested environments make it a valuable asset for India’s deep strike requirements.Armed with a diverse array of internal cannons, precision-guided bombs, stand-off missiles, and specialised anti-ship or cluster munitions, Jaguars are built to breach enemy air defences and attack critical targets well behind enemy lines such as during the 1999 Kargil war. They have also been certified and modified for nuclear bomb delivery.IAF wants to keep Jaguar squadrons active as the number of its combat fighter squadrons have depleted to an alarming 29 as compared to the approved strength of 42.Though the IAF had placed two big orders for 4.5-generation indigenous Tejas Mk-1A with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, it is yet to get a single aircraft from the defence PSU.In Feb 2021, the defence ministry had sealed a Rs 48,000-crore deal with the HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas Mk-1A jets for the IAF. In Sept last year, the ministry had sealed a second deal worth Rs 62,370 crore with the HAL to procure 97 Tejas MK-1A for the IAF.Besides Tejas, India is also simultaneously working on the 5th-generation Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project. However, the first AMCA will roll out not before 2035. India has also planned to acquire 114 Rafale jets from France. However, the deal is not done yet but is expected to be signed this year itself. Even if the deal is signed, the first Rafale jet from the new 114-jet deal will arrive only by 2028-30.