SFR YUGOSLAVIA AIR FORCE

OVERVIEW OF "NOVI AVION"

The "Novi Avion" project [Serbo-Croatian for "New Aircraft"] started in the Mid-1980's in SFR Yugoslavia. The completion of this project would have made SFR Yugoslavia completely self-sufficient when it came to military equipment and technology, for the only thing it still had to import was fighter aircraft. The project was cancelled in 1991 due to the outbreak of the Yugoslav wars, which made the necessary recourses unavailable. The design was one year before completion before it cancellation, although some parts of the plane had already been made.

If the design was continued, it would have been completed in 1992 and it would have entered service in the late 1990's and would have replaced the MiG-21's and J-21's in service with the SFR Yugoslav air force.
SFR Yugoslavia would have aqquired approxiametly 150-200 of these aircraft for itself, and expected that about 700 "Novi Avion" would have been sold on the world market.

The design of the "Novi Avion" resembled the French Mirage Rafale, although it only had one engine and was smaller. The "Novi Avion" was designed to be able to sucesfully fulfil several roles, including: Air superiority, interception, reconassiance, ground-attack and anti-ship attack. This would have enabled the "Novi Avion" to have a significant advantage over the MiG-29's SFR Yugoslavia bought from the Soviet Union, because the MiG-29's were incapable of ground attack and anti-ship attack.

The "Novi Avion" was designed to incorporate a number of features to lower its RCS [Radar Cross Section]. It would not have been a true stealth fighter but would still have a significant advantage over all other 4th generation multi-role aircraft. To help with its interception role, the "Novi Avion" would have had a ECM/ECCM suite. The design was almost an entirely Yugoslav design, but France was providing assistance for the design of the parts that SFR Yugoslavia had no experience with. The "Novi Avion" had a maximum speed of about Mach 2 and had a maximum take-off weight of over 13,000kg. The "Novi Avion", if completed, would most definitely have been one of the best 4th generation fighters out there, and would still pose a threat to any other 4/4.5 generation aircraft in service today.

Disclaimer:
I do not claim to own or to have created any of the pictures posted in this thread. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Note:
The pictures used in this thread are not actual photo's of the aircraft, but are artistic concepts. Seeing as the plane still had 1 year left for design the actual layout and shape of the aircraft might look different than portrayed.

its a bird its a plane... it is a plane?
dam it just wasn't to be

Huh, what?

The thing looks like someone cut two models in half and glued them together.
Front end looks like a Gripen on the cheap.
Tail plane looks like an F-16..

Originally Posted by KJ

The thing looks like someone cut two models in half and glued them together.
Front end looks like a Gripen on the cheap.
Tail plane looks like an F-16..

Its not based on either of them, its a Yugoslav design.

Probably would have ended up as good or better than the F-16/Gripen

Originally Posted by Zastava-Arms

Probably would have ended up as good or better than the F-16/Gripen

Based on what?

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Based on what?

It's called a "Hypothesis".

Though of course we will probably never know, unless Serbia restarts the program. But I cant see them having enough money to do it. I think they should just be happy with buying foreign aircraft.

No, that's called a baseless statement.

c'mon he probably just learned what a hypothesis was at school...
but what a bout everything else Yugoslavia had in its inventory?
just making your plane doesn't mean you are completely self sufficient...

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

No, that's called a baseless statement.

What, bit worried some F-15's would have fallen in a nice little farm in 99?

but what a bout everything else Yugoslavia had in its inventory?
just making your plane doesn't mean you are completely self sufficient...

Well, Yugoslavia would have been self sufficient. We already made our own submarine's, our own tanks, our own APC's, our own IFV's, our own trainer aircraft, our own helicopters, are own boats, our own small arms, our own ground attack aircraft etc etc.

Yugoslavia wasnt exactly poor when Tito was around, you know.