Romanian-Yugoslavian Aviation. Part-One.

Orao/IAR-93.

This was a joint venture between the two named countries above to develop a single seat fighter based around the Roll-Royce Viper turbojet engine. Speed was in excess of Mach1.6, with a cruising height of 16,000 metres and a 1 minute36 seconds to 36,000 feet (11,000 Metres).

This was some aircraft used as a ground-attack fighter and not really reported in the west, at the time of a viable fighter jet. It was armed with two 30mm cannons and had five hard points capable of carrying 3000 Kg of mixed weapons loads? 

Entering service with both the Romanian and Yugoslavian air forces in 1974, a second two-seat trainer and reconnaissance version was proposed as the IAR-93-B

The BTR-60 APC.

'Were rocking all over the world.'

Soviet Russia spread its socialist philosphy with trade and military hardware, just as much as the united States and many other countries do so today. One of the biggest exports outside military jets, was the assortment of ground vehicles and the APC's on offer.

Many countries that could not buy aircraft or ships, went for vehicles instead, apart from Tanks. Today we see the situations of conflicts around the world, from the Middle-East to Afghanistan, to the Uraine to Libya in North-Africa and we see that familiar eight wheel APC, the BTR-60 still active in successfully moving troops about.

The BTR-60 started life in 1961 and was an advanced development and replacement for the BTR-152 APC. It was fully amphibious, carried a crew of two and 14 troops. Today there are so many versions available, that it would be immpossible to account for all of them here. 

Speed is around 48 mph and range around 350 miles, but with improved engines this has probably improved since the fall of the Soviet Union. The vehicle has been built under licence in Romania as the TAB-70, also in India and China. While several adapted vehicles were re-built from it in the middle-east and in Israel.