Soko G-2 Galeb

G-2 Galeb
General information
Type	Jet trainer and ground-attack
National origin	Yugoslavia
Manufacturer	SOKO
Status	Limited service
Primary users	Yugoslav Air Force Libyan Air Force
Number built	248[1]
History
Manufactured	1965–1985
First flight	3 July 1961
Variants	J-21 Jastreb

The Soko G-2 Galeb (from Serbian: галеб, lit. 'seagull') is a Yugoslav single engine, two-seater jet trainer and light ground-attack aircraft. The G-2 was developed during the 1950s by the Aeronautical Technical Institute at Žarkovo as a replacement for the Lockheed T-33 in service with the Yugoslav Air Force (RV i PVO). Production started in 1965 at the Soko aircraft factory in Mostar, and ended in 1985 with 248 aircraft delivered. The G-2 had the distinction of being the first mass-produced jet aircraft in socialist Yugoslavia.^[2] It also served as a basis for the single-seat ground-attack J-21 Jastreb.

The RV i PVO took delivery of 128 aircraft that were used by the Air Force Academy for training new pilots. The second largest operator of the Galeb was Libya, which acquired over 100 aircraft during the 1970s. A small number were also acquired by Zaire, Zambia and Indonesia. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Galebs were used for ground attack sorties in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. By 1992, RV i PVO G-2s relocated to Serbia and Montenegro, where they operated with the Air Force of the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The aircraft remained in service until 1999, when the majority of them were destroyed on ground during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

The Libyan Air Force's G-2s were used during the Libyan Civil War by Gaddafi forces, with an unknown number surviving the war and being reported in service as late as 2013. A single aircraft remains in service with the Technical Test Center of the Serbian Armed Forces. A number of aircraft are still flown by civilians as warbirds, including the private aerobatic team "Stars" from Novi Sad.