The Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour powered the SEPECAT Jaguar strike aircraft.
The Adour is an afterburning turbofan developed jointly by Rolls-Royce in Britain and Turbomeca in France. It was created for the Anglo-French Jaguar, which first flew in 1968 and entered service in the 1970s. The engine’s name comes from the Adour River in southwestern France.
The Jaguar used two Adour engines. Their combination of compact size, afterburning performance and suitability for low-level flight made them appropriate for a tactical strike aircraft. The engine was also adapted for other military aircraft, including the British-French SEPECAT partnership’s related programs.
The Adour should not be confused with the Rolls-Royce Spey, another military turbofan used in several British aircraft, or the RB199, which powered the larger Panavia Tornado. Those engines belong to different aircraft programs and have different configurations.