Coronis

Coronis
Role	Bomber
National origin	Republic of Syara
First flight	1965
Introduction	1968
Retired	1989
Status	Retired
Primary user	Syaran Army Air Corps
Produced	1968-1973
Number built	22

The Coronis was a supersonic strategic bomber manufactured by the Republic of Syara. It was the only supersonic aircraft explicitly designed as a long-range bomber to be fielded by the Syaran Army Air Corps. The original design was submitted in 1960, but it took until 1965 for the first prototype to take to the air. An additional three years of testing resulted in an introduction in 1968, after which production of 22 airframes began, lasting until 1973. The Coronis was a highly advanced aircraft, implementing an early fly-by-wire system (with a mechanical redundancy), with large and powerful engines capable of reaching Mach 2.3. These later proved to be overly ambitious project for the time, and the maintenance heavy aircraft faced repeated technical issues throughout its existence. The primary armament of the Coronis was anti-ship missiles, with long range air-to-ground munitions also provided.

Ultimately, changing geopolitical conditions doomed the Coronis. During its development Syaran strategic concerns were primarily centered around ensuring Syara sovereignty in the face of Syara's strategic geographic positions along the Sundering Sea. The Coronis had been designed with the intention of being used as a deterrent against the naval forces of Ossoria, Cacerta, and Acrea, but the Seven Day War and Syara's subsequent pivot back towards viewing Ruvelka as a primary threat changed Syara's strategic posture, thus reducing the need for a long range bomber. Production of the Coronis was halted in 1973, although the aircraft remained in service. Lack of maintenance meant that most of the airframes were no longer air worthy by the time of the Refusal War, and none remained operational afterwards. The Commonality Air Force officially retired the Coronis in 1989.