SEPECAT Jaguar M Trials

[Brian James]

SEPECAT Jaguar M trials aboard Carrier Clemenceau in 1970....SEPECAT (Société Européenne de Production de l'avion Ecole de Combat et d'Appui Tactique) was an Anglo-French aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1966, its aim was to handle the development and commercialization of the Jaguar, an attack and training aircraft. A separate partnership was formed between Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca to develop the Adour afterburning turbofan engine. The Br.121 was proposed with Turbomeca's Tourmalet engine for ECAT but Breguet preferred the RR RB.172 and their joint venture would use elements of both. The new engine, which would be used for the AFVG as well, would be built at Derby and Tarnos. Previous collaborative efforts between Britain and France had been complicated; the BAC/Dassault AFVG programme had ended in cancellation, while controversy surrounded the development of the supersonic airliner Concorde. Early on, collaboration between BAC and Breguet went well; however, following Dassault's takeover of Breguet in 1971, the firm encouraged acceptance of its own designs, such as the Super Étendard naval attack aircraft and the Mirage F1, for which it would receive more workshare and profit, over the Jaguar. Specifically, Dassault claimed that the Super Étendard was simpler and cheaper than the Jaguar, successfully persuading the French Navy to order it instead of the marinised Jaguar M, leading to the variant's cancellation in 1973.