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SOKO G-4 Super Galeb (Super Seagull)

History of SOKO G-4 Super Galeb (Super Seagull)

The G-4 Super Galeb (Super Seagull) advanced trainer/light attack aircraft was born out of Yugoslav demand to replace the aging Lockheed T-33 Meteor and G-2 Galeb jet trainers. VTI - Yugoslav Institute of Aeronautics and Technology - took over the program and design work began sometime in 1973. The prototype - designated "G-4 PPP" - was produced in 1975 and made its first flight on July 17, 1978.

Next, the production aircraft was built and delivered for evaluation, also known as the G-4 PPP. Full-scale production under the SOKO/Lola Utva factory began in 1982, and the system officially entered the Yugoslav army in 1983. A total of 123 to 135 Super Galebs will be delivered (source varies depending on exact quantity).

She remains in service today and maintains a relatively excellent service record with only two casualties in her nearly three-decade career. At one point, the U.S. evaluated the aircraft in the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System competition, and U.S. test pilots gave the G-4 a positive review, but the Yugoslav aircraft ultimately lost to the homegrown Thor T-6 Texan II.

Tour

Super Galeb has a modern look. She maintains a fairly short nose cone and the cockpit is aft. The tiered cockpit offers two tandem seats - one student in the front and one instructor in the back when used in a senior instructor role. The cockpit canopy is a multi-piece unit with individual systems and a framed front assembly for each pilot.

Ejection seats are available in both positions. A raised ridge behind the cockpit area obstructs the view of the "six" corner. The air intakes are located on the sides of the fuselage and take in the single turbojet. Wings are low-mounted components placed approximately midship in the design. The wing is swept along the leading edge and has a truncated rounded tip with a slight arc along the trailing edge.

The fins are conventional, using a single vertical fin and a pair of bottom-mounted fully articulated horizontal fins, each with a reverse angle. The engines ejected through rings at the rear of the fuselage and at the bottom of the vertical tail.

Her landing gear is a traditional tricycle arrangement with two single-wheel main gear and one single-wheel nose gear.

Performance and size

The G-4 is powered by a single engine hidden in a sleek fuselage. The engine itself is of British origin and is a licensed Rolls-Royce Viper Mk 632-46 series turbojet system capable of delivering up to 4,000 pounds of thrust. Her top speed is calculated at 565 mph, while her range is limited to 1,553 miles. The G-4's service ceiling remains around 42,160 feet, with a climb rate of 6,100 feet per minute.

Dimensionally, the G-4 has a wingspan of 32 feet 5 inches and a barrel length of 37 feet 2 inches. Her seat height is just over 14 feet. The aircraft has an empty weight of 6,993 pounds and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of nearly 13,889 pounds.

Armed

The G-4 had a Soviet 23mm GSh-23L cannon mounted in the ventral bay as standard defensive armament. This is complemented by her ability to carry approximately 4,000 pounds of external ammunition through her four underwing hardpoints, fuselage centerline pylons, and wingtips (some production models - possibly seven total hardpoints).

The GSh-23 shell is fully detachable and can be added for more firing or throwing ammunition. The external ordnance option covers all cleared munitions, including conventionally thrown bombs, cluster bombs, missile pods, air-to-air missiles, and air-to-surface missiles.

Croatia is known to make its G-4 compatible with the R-60 AAM and AGM-65 Maverick (restricting the R-60 to wingtip launchers and the AGM-65 to outboard underwing pylons).

Notable variants

The G-4 retains the base production model used to retain its strike capabilities. G-4s are unarmed versions of the G-4 base. The G-4t is a target tow platform, while the G-4M is used to document the upcoming advanced prototype. The G-4MD, which became the production form of this prototype, is a digitally upgraded and modernized G-4 with HUD (Heads Up Display), GPS Navigation, IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) and HOTAS (Hand Throttle).

The G-4MD is an upgraded version of the Serbian program designed to cover about 15 in-service aircraft and extend their service life to 2030. The actual G-4 prototype was scheduled for its maiden flight in 1992, but the Yugoslav civil war dictated otherwise.

G-5

There is an existing proposal for a radar-carrying version of the G-4 with enhanced strike capabilities, known as the "G-5". However, the war in Yugoslavia certainly ruined the prospects, and the G-5 would never be a reality.

The revised aircraft will be a single-seat, single-engine platform with characteristics similar to the previous G-4, but with a wider mission range.

Controlling exposure

The G-4 was involved in the Yugoslav civil war in the 1990s, which culminated in the country's disintegration. Much of their action was primarily seen at the start of the conflict, and there are unconfirmed reports of aircraft fighting in the Kosovo War (1998-1999). The aircraft proved adequate for light attack missions, and only three such aircraft were reported to have been destroyed by enemy fire.

One example was the ground-launched FIM-92 Stinger short-range shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile that lost its tail but remained airworthy enough to fly to friendly air bases. All three pilots safely dropped their mounts in the three aforementioned planes that were killed in combat. After the Serbs were drafted into the army during the Yugoslav civil war, the SOKO factory in Bosnia (Mostar) was left to the occupiers, halting any further Super Galeb production in the near future.

Many G-4s were subsequently destroyed in the 1999 "Allied" NATO bombing campaign.

Current and former operators

The current operators of the G-4 platform are the Serbian Air Force, the Myanmar Air Force and the Montenegrin Air Force. Serbia controls about 24 units, while Montenegro uses 17. Myanmar limits the total number of its armed forces to six, of which only one is classified as a combat force.

Former operators include the disbanded state of Yugoslavia and the Republika Srpska, the latter of which is known to operate only one example. Myanmar received the G-4 in the 1990s.