Soko J-22 Orao
The SOKO J-22 Orao (Eagle) is a ground-attack and recconisance aircraft developed as a joint-venture in Yugoslavia and Romania.
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Development and construction
The Soko J-22 Orao was intended as a replacement for the lightly armed Soko J-1 Jastreb (Hawk) and the Republic F-84 Thunderjet, then in the JNA arsenal.
On May 20 1971, the governments of Romania and Yugoslavia signed an agreement for the formation of YuRom, a joint R&D venture. The program was headed by Dipl. Dr. Engineer Teodor Zanfirescu of Romania and Colonel Vidoje Knezevic of Yugoslavia.
The aircraft is of a conventional high wing monoplane construction with two Rolls-Royce Viper turbojets provided as primary propulsion. During 1980s, both countries developed slightly different versions to take advantage of new propulsion technologies then becoming available.
Flight testing
The Yugoslav prototype 25002 made its first flight on November 1976 from Batajnica airfield near Belgrade, with Major Vladislav Slavujevic at the controls.
The third aircraft, numbered 003, a pre-production two-seater version, made its first flight on July 4, 1977, but was lost almost a year later due to tail flutter problems.
However, construction continued, and the first batches of pre-production machines were delivered on 1978 to the Air Force Aircraft Testing Facility in Belgrade, with serial production being set-up in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Operational history
Serbian machines saw combat against the KLA in 1999. During the campaign, Serbian sources claim, a J-22 shot down a Tomahawk cruise missile. This representing the only successfully air-to-air action by an Orao. There were also unsubstantiated rumours that some J-22s made at least one incursion deep into the Albanian territory during the NATO involvement.[citation needed] The war ended with most Orao's successfully surviving the bombing campaign.
Former Operators
Current Operators
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Serbia (Primary user)
Variants
- Orao 1 - initial production version, without afterburners. Lack of performance limited role to tactical reconnaissance - later re-designated IJ-22 (Izviđač Jurišni - reconnaissance attack)
- NJ-22 - two-seat trainer version of the Orao 1. (Nastavni Jurišni - trainer attack)
- Orao 2, also known as J-22(M) - refined version with afterburner, enlarged fuel tanks, HUD, ejection seat, and LERx.
- Orao 2D, also known as NJ-22(M) - two-seat trainer version of Orao 2
Specifications (J-22(M))
General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 13.02 m (42 ft 8 in)
- Wingspan: 9.30 m (30 ft 6 in)
- Height: 4.52 m (14 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 26.0 m² (280 ft²)
- Empty: 5,750 kg (12,676 lb)
- Loaded: kg ( lb)
- Maximum takeoff: 10,900 kg (24,030 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 x Turbomeccanica/Orao-built Rolls-Royce Viper Mk 632-47, 44 kN (10,000 lbf) afterburning thrust each.
Performance
- Maximum speed: 1,130 km/h (702 mph)
- Range: 1,320 km (825 miles)
- Service ceiling: 15,000 m (49,210 ft)
- Rate of climb: 5,340 m/min (17,520 ft/min)
- Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
- Thrust-to-weight:
Armament
- 2x 23 mm GSh-23L cannon
- up to 2,800 kg (6,173 lb) of stores, including
- AGM-65 Maverick
- Grom 1 Radio air-to-ground missiles
- Grom 2 TV/Laser air-to-ground missiles
- BL-755 cluster bombs
- 57 mm or 128 mm rockets
- AA-8 air-to-air missile
- Laser guided bombs
Related Content
Related development:
IAR 93
Comparable aircraft:
Nanchang Q-5
Mitsubishi F-1
SEPECAT Jaguar
Designation sequence:
J-20 - J-21 - Soko J-22 Orao
See also
External links
- Utva Aviation
- National Institute for Aerospace Research "Elie Carafoli"
- AIRSERBIA - Serbian Aeronautical Information Network
Photos of Soko J-22 Orao at Airliners.net
as well as here, here, here, here, and here.
Photos at Avioni.net: Orao in low level flight at Kecskemet airshow in 2005
also here: at Batajnica airport,
and here: at Batajnica also.
Photo at ABG (Avijacija Bez Granica): Orao NJ-22 in flight 1980's
Categories
Articles with unsourced statements | International attack aircraft 1970-1979 | Yugoslav attack aircraft 1970-1979