The 30th anniversary of the opening strikes of Operation 'Desert Storm' against Iraq was commemorated at the Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget on 17 January with the unveiling of SEPECAT Jaguar A serial A91, still exhibiting the battle damage it sustained that day. On the strength of Escadron de Chasse 4/11 'Jura,' the Jaguar was flying in one of two formations of six aircraft during a low-level attack on Al Jaber air base in Kuwait, the mission to destroy stocks of ammunition suspected of being loaded with chemical weapons. As the 12 Jaguars approached the objective at less than 50ft they attracted a heavy concentration of anti-aircraft fire from SA-7 missiles and small arms. Four of the Jaguars were badly damaged, A91 being hit in the starboard engine, but it and one other machine were coaxed back to their base in Saudi Arabia. After that first, costly mission, the French Jaguars went over to medium-altitude attacks. Initially A91 was considered repairable, but that decision was soon reversed. More than 20 years after initial approaches to obtain A91 for display, during June 2020 the acquisition commission of the Ministry of the Armed Forces agreed to the transfer of the aircraft to the museum.
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