Soko G-4 Super Galeb

G-4 Super Galeb
Serbian Air Force G-4 Super Galeb
General information
Type	Military trainer aircraft
National origin	Yugoslavia
Manufacturer	SOKO
Designer	Aeronautical Technical Institute
Status	In service
Primary users	Serbian Air Force Myanmar Air Force Montenegrin Air Force (historical) Yugoslav Air Force (historical)
Number built	85[1]
History
Manufactured	1984–1991
Introduction date	1983
First flight	17 July 1978

The Soko G-4 Super Galeb (from Serbian: галеб, lit. 'seagull'), also referred to as N-62, is a Yugoslav single-engine, advanced jet trainer and light ground-attack aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Technical Institute at Žarkovo and manufactured by the SOKO aircraft factory in Mostar.

The Super Galeb was developed during the 1970s as a successor to, and replacement of, the Soko G-2 Galeb then in service with the Yugoslav Air Force (Serbian: Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana – RV i PVO; Croatian: Ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana – RZ i PZO). On 17 July 1978, the maiden flight was performed by a development aircraft, designated G-4 PPP; during 1983, the first G-4 made its first flight. Quantity production of the type commenced in 1984; the assembly line operated up until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991. A total of 85 aircraft were built, most of which went into service with the Yugoslav Air Force, although six G-4s were exported to Myanmar.

During the Yugoslav Wars, RV i PVO G-4s carried out ground-attack sorties, a total of four were recorded as having been lost to enemy air defences. During 1992, the remaining aircraft were relocated to Serbia and Montenegro where they entered service with the Air Force of the newly formed FR Yugoslavia. A single G-4 was left over for the Republika Srpska Air Force. The Serbian Air Force has become the largest operator of the type, having acquired further Super Galebs from other ex-Yugoslavian republics. It intends to upgrade and operate its G-4s through to the 2030s.