Avioane IAR 99 Soim (Hawk)

Avioane IAR 99 Soim (Hawk) History

Romania went the domestic route with the production of the IAR 99 series, developing an advanced jet trainer with light impact capability. The aircraft was developed for the Romanian Air Force, with preliminary work starting in 1975 to replace several older Czechoslovak models. At launch, the IAR 99 proved to be the first fully designed and built jet trainer of Romanian origin, becoming a symbol of national pride.

Furthermore, it reduces the country's reliance on foreign powers to store its military stocks.

Construction of the first prototype began in the early 1980s, and the airframe completed its maiden flight on December 21, 1985. Two more prototypes followed, one serving as a static test bench.

After a period of successful evaluation, the aircraft was officially accepted by the Romanian Air Force as IAR 99 "Soim" ("Eagle") and entered into series production in 1987 by Avioane Craiova. Within two years, the Romanian Air Force had more than a dozen new types of aircraft.

Only 20 IAR 99s have been produced to date (2012), of which at least 3 were lost in accidents. The fleet remains active in the Romanian Air Force??.

In terms of design, the IAR 99 has a sleek, state-of-the-art exterior, a contoured fuselage, a single-engine configuration and a cockpit with tandem seats. The short, sloping nose cone provides excellent forward and side-to-side visibility, while the engine is mounted deep in the center of the rear of the fuselage. The stepped structure of the cockpit allows the rear pilot to observe what is happening ahead from the front pilot's seat. The wings are mounted low on the sides of the fuselage, and the overall design is straight with truncated ends. The rear wing is dominated by a vertical rear wing fixed to the top of the engine exhaust, with a suitable horizontal plane attached to the bottom of the rear wing (significantly higher than the main wing element).

A small air intake for intake of the engine armature is located near the rear pilot's cockpit location. The landing gear consists of a single-wheel nose gear and a traditional arrangement of single-wheel main gear - all of which are retractable.

The IAR 99 is powered by a Turbomecanica Mk 632-41M (Rolls-Royce "Viper") turbojet engine, derived from British and French designs, with 4,000 lbs of thrust. Top speed is 540 mph and total range is 684 miles.

The service ceiling is listed at 42,300 feet and the climb rate is close to 3,450 feet per minute.

The IAR 99 is primarily used in the role of an advanced jet trainer, but is also used as a light attack platform - a dual-role aircraft configuration popular in many countries today. As a result, the aircraft can store external munitions via four under-wing hardpoints weighing a total of 2,200 pounds. The IAR 99 does not have a built-in gun for close range work, but a gun pod can be fitted if necessary.

Additionally, hardpoints support conventional bombs, rocket pods, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, and laser-guided munitions, giving the IAR 99 system a broad tactical range in most combat environments. Internal hard points are further "probed" to accommodate external fuel supplies, further extending the aircraft's inherent operational range.

The aircraft is also equipped with a full electronic warfare and countermeasures suite (complete with chaff/flare dispensers) for self-defense against pursuit and homing threats.

All in all, the IAR 99 series is proving to be a strong domestic effort in Romania, although the product has so far not attracted much foreign interest.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes