Jaguar Jagdpanzer

"We are Jagdpanzer goddamnit, and we hate you."

– Anonymous Wermacht Jagdpanzer radio operator, Company of Heroes

A Jaguar 1 ...

... & A Jaguar 2

Boy, those Germans certainly like their turretless TDs (Tank Destroyers) don't they? The krauts still hadn't quite gotten over their enthusiasm for TDs when the Cold War rolled around and though they finally realized that guns were better mounted in tanks, the Germans had the bright idea of mounting ATGMs instead. Hence, the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 Jaguar, or just the Jaguar for those who don't care to try to pronounce a 10 syllable name.

In Team Yankee

Das Stats

Both versions of the Jaguar Jagdpanzer are capable but overcosted tank hunters in Team Yankee, with the differences being minimal. Adapted from the Jagdpanzer 90mm chassis, the Jaguar 2 uses the older I-TOW ATGM and employs a manual loading system with a poor guy loading fresh missiles from the hatch. Conversely, Jaguar 1 uses the HOT missile along with a mechanical autoloader.

Jaguar 2s are part of the Marder panzergrenadier Kompanie and cost 3 points for two or 5 points for three.

Jaguar 1s are part of the Leopard 2 Panzer Kompanie and cost 4 points for two or 6 points for three.

With the Leopard 2's forte in anti-armor engagements, the Jaguar 1 can be considered redundant. However, the Jaguar 2 has a niche role in the panzergrenadier Kompanie: plinking at enemy armor alongside Milan missile teams.

Ultimately, there is little reason to bring in Jaguars. Given West Germany's assortment of anti-armor options in more efficient packages like the Tornado or the Milan, it can be considered a fluff choice at best and qualifies for the 1/5 slot, given its fragility and high-cost inefficiency. At games below 30 points, the Jaguar is a utility unit that performs well against NATO lists with its missile punching through Generation 3 tanks without much problems. Forward defence lets you use these units in ambush, meaning that you will get at least one full volley off before they take fire. Unlike the Swingfire and Hammerhead, these things do not stay concealed after firing and their 9 armour will not save you from enemy tank shells. It will protect you from IFV cannons like the BMP-1 and the Scorpion, however!

IRL

A pair of Austrian Jaguars on exercise

As you can imagine, after their experience in world war 2 with successful vehicles such as the Stug, Hetzer and Jagdpanzer, German designers did not completely reject the turret less tank destroyer the way most other nations did after the war. This is why in the cold war the West Germans developed the (not in team Yankee yet) Kanonenjagdpanzer which was armed with a Rheinmetall BK90 90mm/L40 cannon based on the 90mm gun in US tanks from the 1950s. However when the Soviets started to deploy T-64's and T-72's, the 90mm proved too light to be useful, which may go some way to explain why the Kanonen is AWOL in team yankee at this moment, despite the fact that they remained in service until 1990. To compensate for this deficiency the Raketenjagdpanzer 4 Jaguar was developed to mount the French developed HOT missile which was exponentially more powerful than the old 90mm, as an alternative to mounting 105mm guns in the Jagdpanzer chassis, as was proposed in the 1970s.

However, now that the new Jaguar was in use, the Bundeswehr was left with a bunch of the old Kanonenjagdpanzers that were now obsolete. Rather than scrap the lot, these vehicles were converted into Jaguar 2s by yanking out the 90mm and mounting the American made TOW missile system, which was less capable than the HOT missile, but required less specialized fire controls.

Both variants of the Jaguar were maintained until the conclusion of the Cold War in the early 90's. With the reunification of Germany and the reorganization of the Bundeswehr where was no pressing need for an aged, dedicated anti-tank vehicle and so both variants were retired and replaced by the Puma and Marder IFVs which can be equipped with the Israeli MELLS.