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44-486: SOKO was created in 1950 by the relocation of the aircraft factory section of Ikarus company from Zemun , SR Serbia . Officially founded as "Preduzeće Soko" (Soko Corporation, soko meaning " falcon " in Serbian), soon after it was renamed "Soko Vazduhoplovna Industrija, RO Vazduhoplovstvo" (Soko Aeronautical Industry, RO Aeronautics). Its first director was Yugoslav People's Army colonel Ivan Sert. The following directors of

88-572: A capacity of 250 kg (550 lb) for bombs, rocket launchers and additional tanks, while the six outer pylons can carry VRZ-157 127 mm (5.00 in) rockets. The J-21 entered service with the JRV (Yugoslavian Air Force) on 31 December 1968, with very few, if any, remaining in service. According to some reports, France and Yugoslavia supported Mobutu 's government during the First Congo War. Namely, Yugoslavia agreed to deliver three J-21 and

132-631: A parade, killing dozens. The accident is reported as being attributed to Turčinović's alcohol dependency. Soon after the accident, the Yugoslavian staff were expelled from the DRC and the Jastrebs were abandoned along with the Galebs. MiG-21s and Mi-24s, awaiting assembly by Russian or Ukrainian technicians at Gbadolite, were also abandoned and can still be seen on the ramp at Gbadolite (2013). Six J-21 Jastrebs of

176-414: A single G-2 aircraft, as well as four MiG-21 PFMs, while three Mi-24s were purchased from Ukraine. All these aircraft were based at Gbadolite and flown mainly by Serbian mercenaries . A Yugoslavian pilot, Ratko Turčinović, was killed while flying an ultra-low-level pass over Gbadolite , clipping a lamp post with his wing. The wreckage of his aircraft fell directly into a column of young soldiers on

220-674: A strong desire to avoid one nation upstaging the other, the aircraft featured two separate names; in Romania, it was known as the IAR-93 Vultur while in Yugoslavia it was referred to as the Soko J-22 Orao . Serial production of the J-22 was performed at SOKO's Mostar facility, production was brought to a halt in 1992, and the factory itself heavily damaged, by the series of events commonly referred to as

264-524: Is a Serbian bus manufacturer based in Zemun , Belgrade. It was originally established as an aircraft manufacturer in 1923, under the name Ikarus . In 1954, it commenced bus production and since 1960 it completely shifted towards it. In 1992, it changed its name to Ikarbus. Since 2019, it is majority owned by the Chinese "Green Stone Investment Co.". On 13 October 1923, the company was established under name "Ikarus –

308-697: The G-2 Galeb advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft, it was designed in single-seat ground-attack and two-seat advanced flying/weapon training versions. The J-21 Jastreb was developed as a replacement for the Republic F-84 Thunderjet , which had been the most commonly used turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft of the Yugoslav Air Force until 1967. On the basis of the G-2 Galeb, the J-21 Jastreb

352-565: The G-4 Super Galeb ; it was designed as a replacement for Yugoslav Air Force's existing inventory of G-2 Galebs . According to aviation periodical Flight International , the Super Galeb showed unmistakable lineage from the earlier G-2, sharing the same British -sourced Rolls-Royce Viper turbojet engine, albeit uprated for greater performance. However, aviation historian Christopher Chant notes that: "the Super Galeb bares no more relation to

396-611: The Ikarus S-451M , ultra light jet plane set the world speed record, flying at 500.2 km/hour. On 14 November 1961, by the official act of the Administration for Military Industry Affairs, "Ikarus" ceased to be a military company. Most of the personal and equipment from the aircraft section of "Ikarus" had been relocated during the previous decade to a new aircraft factory SOKO , located in Mostar , SR Bosnia and Herzegovina . In 1992,

440-683: The Republika Srpska Air Force were engaged by USAF F-16s during Operation Deny Flight for violating the NATO-enforced no-fly-zone, in what is known as the Banja Luka incident . The USAF claimed four J-21s shot down by F-16s, while the Serbs claimed five Jastrebs as lost. The discrepancy likely stems from a damaged Jastreb crashing near the airfield after the F-16s had departed. On 15 November, during

484-633: The Soko G-2 Galeb . The principal purpose for its development was to produce a domestic replacement for the American-built Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star , which at the time was the most commonly used jet trainer aircraft in use by the Yugoslav Air Force; thus, the Galeb was to be capable of meeting the varied qualities and requirements involved in performing ab initio , intermediate, and advanced instructional training missions. The Galeb

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528-712: The Utva Aviation Industry in Pančevo which had already been working closely with SOKO in the manufacturing of Orao and Super Galeb . During the late 1940s, as a result of the Yugoslav government's policy to relocate Serbian industry , a large portion of both the infrastructure and personal from the aeronautical section of the Ikarus company from Zemun , SR Serbia was uprooted and transferred to Mostar , SR Bosnia and Herzegovina . During 1950, these assets were integrated into

572-510: The Yugoslav Wars . Various upgrade programmes for the J-22 were proposed during the 1990s; reportedly, such efforts would have been focused upon its avionics. However, such ambitions were heavily undermined by the dismantling of the Mostar factory during the Yugoslav Wars and the collapse of Romania's communist government. Another programme begun during the 1970s would result in the development of

616-426: The 2000s and 2010s, causing Ikarbus to become indebted and work in limited capacity. In March 2019, the Chinese "Zhuhai Yinlong New Energy" company began the process of acquiring a majority stake in company's ownership structure. Since then, the new majority owner of the company is officially the Chinese "Green Stone Investment Co.". However, there are concerns for the fate of Ikarbus, as production or reactivation of

660-623: The Avion was intended to be used as a replacement for the Yugoslavian Air Force's fleet of around 120 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s . Development was a recognised priority programme for the Yugoslavian People's Army and was partly funded by the national government out of general research and development and modernisation funds, as well as being partly provided by industry. The Novi Avion was to be Yugoslavia's first supersonic aircraft, accordingly,

704-535: The Avion was reportedly expected to enter squadron service at some point during the mid-2000s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, SOKO was involved in various partnerships. In addition to working with Avioane Craiova to co-develop the J-22 Orao/ IAR-93 , Soko also cooperated with Sikorsky , Westland and Aérospatiale in producing various helicopters under license . Throughout the company's existence, its aircraft production activities were mainly destined to fulfill

748-528: The French Potez 25 , Czechoslovakian Avia BH-33 and English Hawker Fury ; Bristol Blenheim as well as the locally designed Ikarus ŠM , Ikarus IO , SIM-VIII , Ikarus IK-2 and Ikarus Orkan . On 3 March 1924, the first school type airplane "Brandenburg" was manufactured. In 1927, the Yugoslavian Air Command decided that "Ikarus" should start the production of military planes; the factory for

792-674: The G-2 Galeb than an identity of role, being an altogether more advanced aircraft. Beyond the domestic market, it also competed internationally against jet trainers such as the Italian Aermacchi MB-339 , the Czechoslovakian Aero L-39 Albatros , and the Spanish CASA C-101 ; Flight International observes that, while the Super Galeb offered less performance that the Franco -German Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet , it

836-550: The Galeb achieved export sales as well; the Libyan Air Force was a prolific operator of the type; by 2002, it reportedly possessed a total of 80 aircraft remaining in its inventory. During 1970, the neighbouring nations of Romania and Yugoslavia began discussions on the subject of jointly developing a new ground-attack orientated fighter aircraft. On 20 May 1971, the Romanian and Yugoslavian governments signed an agreement for

880-523: The Galeb, named the J-21 Jastreb , was also developed shortly thereafter; aside from the strengthening of the airframe, one distinct difference between the two aircraft was the deletion of the rear cockpit on the J-21 Jastreb, this location has instead been covered by a fairing and the internal space used to contain avionics and other aircraft equipment. Beyond domestic adoption with the Yugoslav Air force,

924-719: The Government of Yugoslavia made a decision to establish the State Enterprise "Ikarus". Also, the Sports Club "Naša krila" was established. In 1950, a single-seat fighter plane S-49 was built by engineers Ilić, Sivčev, Zrnić and Popović. In the same year, "Ikarus" manufactured the first gliders in the socialist Yugoslavia; a single-seat glider "Hawk 1" was awarded the third prize at the International Championship in Sweden. By

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968-477: The Jastreb has a conventional aluminium alloy stressed skin structure with few or no special features. The relatively thick aerofoil section, though limiting performance, provides room for fuel cells and the retracted main undercarriage which retracts inwards, giving the Jastreb a wide track and imbuing it with excellent ground handling characteristics. The levered undercarriage legs and relatively low pressure tyres allow

1012-433: The Jastreb to operate from un-prepared strips or rough surfaced airfields. Compared to the Galeb, the Jastreb has a strengthened structure, allowing more weapons to be carried, including three 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Browning AN/M3 machine guns, mounted in the nose of the aircraft. As well as the nose-mounted guns, the Jastreb is able to carry up to 800 kg (1,800 lb) on under-wing pylons, two inner pylons having

1056-434: The Yugoslav Air Force to be supplied with domestically-built modern fighters. The production was planned to begin around 1991; however, the outbreak of the Yugoslav wars and the enactment of an international arms embargo caused the project to be cancelled. During the early 1990s, the factory ceased aircraft production altogether. The facilities were partially dismantled and relocated to Serbia , where they were aligned with

1100-529: The aircraft's development was provided by the British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Limited , whose Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojet engine was selected to power the type. During 1964, production of the Galeb commenced, making it the first indigenously-developed jet aircraft to enter mass production in Yugoslavia (the first jet-powered plane built by Yugoslavia was the Ikarus 451M in 1952, which did not enter production). A ground attack-orientated derivative of

1144-714: The aviation industry. The historical models under Ikarus brand are: The historical models under Ikarbus brand are: Soko J-21 Jastreb The Soko J-21 Jastreb (from Serbian Cyrillic : јастреб , lit.   'hawk'), referred to as the J-1 Jastreb in some sources, is a Yugoslav single-seat, single-engine, light attack aircraft , designed by the Aeronautical Technical Institute (ATI) and Military Technical Institute (VTI), in Belgrade and manufactured by SOKO in Mostar . Derived from

1188-454: The company was privatized, and the following year changed its name to "Ikarbus", due to name usage conflicts with the Hungarian bus manufacturer with the same name . During the 1990s Yugoslav Wars and international sanctions imposed on FR Yugoslavia , the company's production stagnated. As there was no political will to adjust a state-owned company to a transition, that trend continued during

1232-614: The company were engineers Miljenko Pješčić and Tomislav Mirić. The serial manufacture of numerous types of aircraft was projected by the Aeronautical Technical Institute in Belgrade . Besides aircraft, SOKO also produced helicopters under licence. Located in the vicinity of Mostar, it mostly used the Mostar Airport for test flights. By the 1980s, SOKO was working on the Novi Avion project, intended to develop an indigenous fourth-generation, supersonic multi-role fighter that would enabled

1276-491: The end of October 1952, the first Yugoslav jet plane "451 M" took off. In 1954, "Kosava" twin-seat glider received the first prize at the International Championship in England. From 1954 onward, Ikarus also commenced bus production, originally of Sauer and MAN designs under licence, but eventually the company's own designs. In 1957, the airplane Ikarus S-451MM set the world speed record flying at 750.34 km/hour. In 1960,

1320-525: The facility in Zemun is still uncertain. Every vehicle made by Ikarbus has a name starting with 'IK', followed by a hyphen and then the vehicle's code: IK-1xxs are solo city buses, IK-2xxs are articulated city buses and IK-3xxs and IK-4xxs are coaches. Earlier IK 160(P)/161/166 models are also articulated buses. The letter N disambiguates integral models from non-integral ones. The last produced models under Ikarbus brand were: In 1927 an aeronautical section of

1364-481: The factory was found in Zemun where numerous planes were designed and manufactured, as well as under license. The factory included its own airfield. After the end of the World War II, in 1946, another two aeronautical companies, Zmaj and Rogožarski joined Ikarus as a wholly nationalised state aircraft industry. The Ikarus factory had manufactured in its workshops 475 aircraft up until 1962, when it stopped working for

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1408-406: The financial resources necessary to start production of the fighter having become unavailable following the break-up of the country. Reportedly, work had been initially halted due to the lack of funding while further efforts were made to acquire foreign partnership arrangements. If the development had not been terminated, the first aircraft was scheduled to have conduct its maiden flight during 1992;

1452-541: The first Serbian airplane, car and engine industry Kovačević and Co", with headquarters in Novi Sad . The founders were Dimitrije Konjović , brothers Dušan and Milivoj Kovačević, Đoka Radulović and Josif Mikl. On 20 November 1923, "Ikarus" started business officially after the registration before the Novi Sad District Court. In the beginning, the company manufactured a number of foreign designs under licence, such as

1496-499: The first emergency Assembly of "Ikarus" shareholders in the socialist Yugoslavia was held in. On 27 March 1946, "Ikarus" was nationalized by the decision of the District Court of Zemun. Until the end of 1946, the subsequent decisions in form of property nationalization were made. On 22 October 1946, the first plane "Aero-2B" flew for the first time, the first prototype made by the air industry in socialist Yugoslavia. On 23 January 1948,

1540-465: The first model of war airplane of domestic design was completed; a single-seat glider "IK-1", designed by engineers Ljubomir Ilić and Kosta Sivčev. In January 1936, the Yugoslav Air Command and "Ikarus" signed an agreement for the manufacturing of British "Hawker Fury" fighter plane, of all-metal construction. By the spring of 1938, the Yugoslav Air Command and the company concluded an agreement on

1584-554: The formation of YuRom , a joint research and development venture between the two nations. According to aviation author John C. Fredriksen, the announcement was a logical extension of political policy, as the two nations' heads of state , Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia and Nicolae Ceaușescu , had both historically sought to avoid overreliance upon the Soviet Union , preferring to build ties and cooperative projects with other friendly or neutral nations. Due to political sensitivities and

1628-416: The national industry lacked experience in the design and testing of such fighters and sought out external partners to provide assistance. Both France and French company Dassault Aviation 's upcoming Rafale fighter bore a heavy influence on the design of the Avion. During the 1990s, Yugoslavia disintegrated into several different nations, which quickly resulted in the Avion programme being abandoned due to

1672-557: The needs of the Yugoslav Air Force, but exporting aircraft was also an option. J-1 Jastreb were exported to Libya and Zambia. G-2 Galeb was exported to Libya, Zaire and Zambia. Six Super Galebs were exported to Burma, while the start of the Yugoslav wars and the international sanctions halted the production and blocked outstanding orders for the G-4 Super Galeb to Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Ikarbus Ikarbus a.d. ( Ikarbus - Fabrika autobusa i specijalnih vozila a.d. )

1716-565: The newly formed aircraft manufacturer SOKO, which immediately begin working on various aeronautical technologies. During these early years, the company produced the Soko 522 trainer aircraft, as well as providing maintenance support for the Yugoslav Air Force , particularly its fleet of American -built F-84 Thunderjet fighters. During 1957, Yugoslavia's VTI (Aeronautical Technical Institute) commenced design work on what would subsequently become

1760-471: The production of military planes was built in Zemun . On 20 June 1927, "Ikarus" together with Military and Navy Ministry concluded an agreement to build a new factory of airplane engines in Rakovica . In 1928, the Sports Club "Ikarus" was established, thus "Ikarus" being the first company to build gliders in the country. By December 1932, the company relocated its headquarters from Novi Sad to Zemun. In April 1935,

1804-673: The supply of twin-engine bombers "Blenheim", under the British license. In 1938, the Administration Building of "Ikarus" in Zemun was built. With the start of the World War II (WWII) in Yugoslavia, the Nazi Germany occupation authorities confiscated the company on 17 April 1941. On 17 and 25 April 1944, the factory was heavily damaged in the Allied air-strikes. By early November 1944, the factory restarted operations. On 12 August 1945,

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1848-510: Was developed as a collaborative effort between Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom , and reportedly contributed significantly to the export value of the latter; a significant proportion of components and ancillary equipment, such as the powerplant, ejector seats, and navigational fittings amongst others, that were installed upon the aircraft had been sourced from or were directly produced by a range of British aerospace manufacturers. Sponsorship for

1892-431: Was developed as a single seat ground attack variant, flying for the first time on 19 July 1965. Pilots sit on licence-built Folland Type 1-B ejection seats under individual canopies hinged on the starboard side in un-pressurised cockpits. Instruments and controls are entirely conventional with manually operated flying controls and standard flight instruments. Powered by a single BWB licence-built Rolls-Royce Viper Mk531

1936-445: Was substantially cheaper to procure. During the mid-1980s, the Novi Avion programme was initiated with the aim of increasing Yugoslavia 's political independence by becoming self-sufficient in the manufacture of military equipment; at that point, air superiority fighter jets were the only major element in which Yugoslavia was still reliant upon imports, having obtained the capability to manufacture all other military equipment. Thus,

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