Novi Avion

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Novi Avion
Type	Multirole fighter
Manufacturer	Yugoslav Military Facilities
Maiden flight	First flight would have been 1992
Introduced	Introduction would have been mid or late 1990s
Status	Cancelled Project
Primary user	Primary user would have been SFR Yugoslav Air Force
Number built	Number built would have been 150+ units

The Novi Avion is a 4th-generation, supersonic multirole fighter jet of cropped delta-canard platform, which was designed by Yugoslavia but cancelled just before production began. The project was started in the mid-1980s in order to make Yugoslavia fully self-sufficient in the manufacture of military equipment, and air superiority fighter jets were the only thing that Yugoslavia still had to import, having obtained the capability to build all other military equipment (tanks, light attack jets, submarines, etc) by the 1980s. When Yugoslavia disintegrated in 1991, the project was cancelled, since the break-up of the country made the financial resources necessary to start production of the plane unavailable. The design was approximately one year from completion at the time of cancellation, and design of some production facilities and prototypes of some parts such as the cabin had already been built. Had it not been cancelled, it would have had its first flight in 1992, and entered service some time in the mid or late 1990s. The work was undertaken by VTI of Belgrade, Yugoslavia's main military-technical institute.

The Novi Avion most closely resembled the French Rafale, although it was smaller and had only one engine. Locally, it was often referred to unofficially as the "Yugoslav Rafale". It was designed to fill many roles, including air superiority, interception, reconnaissance, ground attack, and anti-ship attack. Maximum speed was just under Mach 2. Super-maneuverability at both supersonic and subsonic speeds was a priority, and a major portion of the airframe was to be composed of composites. The design was to incorporate a number of features to lower its radar cross section, although it would not have been a true stealth aircraft. The aircraft was to carry an advanced ECM/ECCM suite. It was an all-Yugoslav design, not based on any foreign plane, although France was providing some assistance with the design of the most complex parts that Yugoslavia had no experience with, such as a multipurpose radar. The engine was to be the French Snecma M88, the same engine used in the Rafale. Most of the weapons it would have carried would probably have been either French weapons, or built with French assistance. Yugoslavia expected to build approximately 150 of these planes to replace its MiG-21s and J-22s, and a sale of several hundred Novi Avions on the world market was also expected. The term Novi Avion, which was used to describe the project, means "new aircraft" in Serbian, although the aircraft would have received a proper designation upon entering service. The project was also sometimes referred to as Yu-Supersonik in addition to Novi Avion.

[edit] Specifications

Role: multirole

Crew: 1, although there also would have been a 2-seat trainer version
Length: 13.75 m
Height: 4.87 m
Wing span: 8.00 m
Wing area: 30 m²
Wheelbase: 4.20 m
Empty weight: 6247 kg
Max take-off weight: 13,400 kg
Max wing loading: 446.67 kg/m²
Max speed: Mach 1.85
Max climb rate: 15,000 m/min Ceiling: 15,000 m
Range: 3765 km
Engine: 1 Snecma M88 turbofan
Armament: 11 hardpoints, including 2 for wingtip infrared air-air missiles and one for cannon up to 30 mm
Avionics: nose-mounted radar, digital flight control system, multi-function nav/attack system, secure communications, and advanced cockpit displays Cost: unknown since it did not enter production, but various estimates at the time predicted it would be cheaper than other 4th-generation fighters

[edit] References

• Aerosvet Magazine
• Janes All the World's Aircraft