50 Years since the maiden flight of the IAR-93 VULTUR

The Association of Romanian Aeronautical Companies (OPIAR), together with INCAS –National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli”, the Romanian Air Force Staff (SMFA), the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR), the Academy of Romanian Scientists (AOSR), the National Museum of Romanian Aviation (MNAvR), and the Romanian Association for the Promotion and History of Aeronautics (ARPIA) will organize the anniversary event “50 Years Since the First Flight of the IAR-93 VULTUR Aircraft”.

The anniversary event will take place on October 31, 2024, at the INCAS headquarters at 220 Iuliu Maniu Boulevard, Sector 6, Bucharest, starting at 10:00 AM, in the “Elie Carafoli” amphitheater.

Members of the working teams for the IAR-93 VULTUR program, as well as state officials will be present at the event.

The IAR-93 VULTUR aircraft was developed as a result of the agreement concluded between the governments of the Socialist Republic of Romania and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (the YUROM Program), regarding the joint design, construction, prototype testing, and mass production of a fighter aircraft, signed on May 20, 1971.

The cooperation stipulated an equal division of all development, production, and testing activities. On the Romanian side, the project director was Mr. Teodor Zanfirescu, technical director of the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Aerospace Research (IMFCA, now INCAS). The design work was carried out in collaboration with the VTI Zarkovo institute.

The Romanian prototype was built at the Bacău Aircraft Factory (now AEROSTAR), with contributions to some structural parts from the aviation companies IRMA Bucharest (now ROMAERO) and ICA Brașov (now IAR Brașov). Later, the program was integrated at the Craiova Aircraft Factory (now Avioane Craiova), where it was further modernized, with many components being assimilated domestically.

The prototype of the IAR-93 VULTUR fighter aircraft made its maiden flight on October 31, 1974, at the Bacău airport, flown by test pilot Gheorghe Stănică.

This aircraft represented the greatest achievement of the Romanian aviation industry at that time, and the series production of both single and dual-control versions of the IAR-93 VULTUR was carried out at the Craiova Aircraft Factory. Over time, the aircraft underwent multiple upgrades, and the aviation units in Craiova and Ianca were equipped with IAR-93 VULTUR.

The IAR-93 VULTUR marked a memorable milestone in Romania, being the first jet fighter designed, built at prototype level, series produced, and used by the Romanian Air Force. This project laid the foundation for the development of the entire Romanian aerospace industry through significant national effort and formed generations of specialists. A total of 86 IAR-93 VULTUR aircraft were delivered domestically, produced between 1975 and 1992.