Indian DefenseJiangnan
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Date of Event:
Nov 23, 2025
On July 9, a SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Churu in Rajasthan, killing two pilots. This was the third Jaguar accident this year, and overall, IAF’s fifth peacetime crash in 2025.
A Jaguar fighter jet was lost in March, and another in April. Tragically, even during the April crash, one IAF pilot had lost his life.
Additionally, India has lost an Antonov An-32 and a Mirage 2000 this year, bringing the total number of IAF aircraft lost in the last six months to five. Three young IAF pilots have been killed in these crashes.
These numbers may seem shocking, and indeed, they are. We are talking about the world’s fourth-largest economy and a country that is also ranked as the world’s fourth most powerful nation, with the world’s fourth-largest Air Force.
However, India is also known as the land of contradictions. And here is another one: a contradiction which is not only ironic, but equally tragic.
From India’s perspective, these numbers are not an exception, but the norm.
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India also lost eight aircraft in 2024, another eight in 2023, five in 2022, 11 in 2021, and five in 2020, all of them during routine peacetime missions.
Since 2020, India has lost 42 aircraft, losing more than seven aircraft every year.
Between 2015 and 2024, India lost a total of 104 aircraft in one decade, or nearly six squadrons.
The IAF currently has a fighter squadron strength of 31, as against the sanctioned strength of 42. The IAF is short of 11 fighter squadrons.
However, India has lost aircraft equivalent to 14 squadrons (255 aircraft) during the last two decades. Apart from the expensive aircraft, the IAF has also lost priceless pilots during these crashes.
The Loss Of Pilots
Between 2012 and 2021, India lost 73 IAF pilots in various crashes, averaging more than seven pilots every year. The figures for previous decades are even more shocking.
For instance, India lost 122 IAF pilots between 2002 and 2011, and a further 190 IAF pilots between 1992 and 2001.
In the decade before that (1982-1991), India lost a staggering 230 pilots, the highest figure in any decade since independence (not counting the decade between 1962-1971, when India fought three wars – 1962, 1965, and 1971 – and lost 333 IAF pilots.
According to a study by defense analyst Colonel Ajai Shukla (Retd.), between 1952 and 2021, India lost 1,305 pilots over the seven decades, an overwhelming majority of whom died during non-combat missions.
nearly as many aircraft during the previous two years as the IAF has lost in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
It is easy to blame the outdated fighter aircraft. And that certainly is a major part of the problem. The MiG-21s and Jaguars comprise a big portion of crashed fighter jets. These vintage jets should have been retired a long time ago.
Countries like Britain and France have retired their Jaguars many years ago. Even small countries like Ecuador, Oman, and Nigeria have phased them out. However, India is still flying over 100 of these vintage aircraft.
Similarly, the IAF is still flying the MiG-21s after more than five decades of service. The IAF is set to retire its remaining 26-28 MiG-21 Bison fleet by the year-end.
As India retires these vintage aircraft, the accident rate of the IAF is set to come down. However, as stated earlier, this is only part of the problem. Human errors, the lack of advanced trainers, and technical faults are other significant causes of IAF crashes.
The IAF has also lost 13 Su-30s, 15 Mirage-2000s, 59 MiG-27s, and 25 MiG-29s; these aircraft are not very old or outdated. Some media reports claim that India has lost 12 (not 13) Su-30 MKIs; however, upon further investigation, it was found that India has lost 13 Su-30s to date.
Still, the IAF’s crash rate has been decreasing, and as India replaces its single-engine Soviet-era fighters with mostly twin-engine Western fighters, the IAF’s crash rate is expected to decline further.
Similarly, India has invested in advanced trainers, such as the Pilatus PC-7 Mark II and HAL’s HTT-40.
However, despite these investments, the IAF’s accident rate is declining at a slow and unsatisfactory pace. Such a high number of aircraft accidents and pilot deaths should be unacceptable in India in 2025.
Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
VIEWS PERSONAL OF THE AUTHOR.
He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com on
A Jaguar fighter jet was lost in March, and another in April. Tragically, even during the April crash, one IAF pilot had lost his life.
Additionally, India has lost an Antonov An-32 and a Mirage 2000 this year, bringing the total number of IAF aircraft lost in the last six months to five. Three young IAF pilots have been killed in these crashes.
These numbers may seem shocking, and indeed, they are. We are talking about the world’s fourth-largest economy and a country that is also ranked as the world’s fourth most powerful nation, with the world’s fourth-largest Air Force.
However, India is also known as the land of contradictions. And here is another one: a contradiction which is not only ironic, but equally tragic.
From India’s perspective, these numbers are not an exception, but the norm.
Air India Crash: Why Investigators Could Be Saving 787 Dreamliner & Boeing’s ‘Charred’ Reputation? OPED
India also lost eight aircraft in 2024, another eight in 2023, five in 2022, 11 in 2021, and five in 2020, all of them during routine peacetime missions.
Since 2020, India has lost 42 aircraft, losing more than seven aircraft every year.
Between 2015 and 2024, India lost a total of 104 aircraft in one decade, or nearly six squadrons.
The IAF currently has a fighter squadron strength of 31, as against the sanctioned strength of 42. The IAF is short of 11 fighter squadrons.
However, India has lost aircraft equivalent to 14 squadrons (255 aircraft) during the last two decades. Apart from the expensive aircraft, the IAF has also lost priceless pilots during these crashes.
The Loss Of Pilots
Between 2012 and 2021, India lost 73 IAF pilots in various crashes, averaging more than seven pilots every year. The figures for previous decades are even more shocking.
For instance, India lost 122 IAF pilots between 2002 and 2011, and a further 190 IAF pilots between 1992 and 2001.
In the decade before that (1982-1991), India lost a staggering 230 pilots, the highest figure in any decade since independence (not counting the decade between 1962-1971, when India fought three wars – 1962, 1965, and 1971 – and lost 333 IAF pilots.
According to a study by defense analyst Colonel Ajai Shukla (Retd.), between 1952 and 2021, India lost 1,305 pilots over the seven decades, an overwhelming majority of whom died during non-combat missions.
nearly as many aircraft during the previous two years as the IAF has lost in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
It is easy to blame the outdated fighter aircraft. And that certainly is a major part of the problem. The MiG-21s and Jaguars comprise a big portion of crashed fighter jets. These vintage jets should have been retired a long time ago.
Countries like Britain and France have retired their Jaguars many years ago. Even small countries like Ecuador, Oman, and Nigeria have phased them out. However, India is still flying over 100 of these vintage aircraft.
Similarly, the IAF is still flying the MiG-21s after more than five decades of service. The IAF is set to retire its remaining 26-28 MiG-21 Bison fleet by the year-end.
As India retires these vintage aircraft, the accident rate of the IAF is set to come down. However, as stated earlier, this is only part of the problem. Human errors, the lack of advanced trainers, and technical faults are other significant causes of IAF crashes.
The IAF has also lost 13 Su-30s, 15 Mirage-2000s, 59 MiG-27s, and 25 MiG-29s; these aircraft are not very old or outdated. Some media reports claim that India has lost 12 (not 13) Su-30 MKIs; however, upon further investigation, it was found that India has lost 13 Su-30s to date.
Still, the IAF’s crash rate has been decreasing, and as India replaces its single-engine Soviet-era fighters with mostly twin-engine Western fighters, the IAF’s crash rate is expected to decline further.
Similarly, India has invested in advanced trainers, such as the Pilatus PC-7 Mark II and HAL’s HTT-40.
However, despite these investments, the IAF’s accident rate is declining at a slow and unsatisfactory pace. Such a high number of aircraft accidents and pilot deaths should be unacceptable in India in 2025.
Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
VIEWS PERSONAL OF THE AUTHOR.
He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com on
10 helicopters within 3 years. 26 pilots died.
