AEF-77 Monoceros

ÆF-77 Monoceros
An ÆF-77 Monoceros in flight
Role	Multirole fighter
National origin	Ventismar Union
Manufacturer	Aerobus
Introduction	July 1977
Status	In service?
Primary user	?
Produced	1977–1988
Number built	?
Unit cost	$30.6 million
Variants	ÆF-77PIP
Developed into	AEF-88 Elanus

The ÆF-77 Monoceros (also written as AEF-77 Monoceros), often referred to as just Monoceros, is a single-engine air superiority fighter jet with limited multirole capabilities developed by the Aerobus aircraft consortium. The aircraft [saw/sees] service in [multiple?] air forces around the world. In 1995 the Royal Lindian Air Force, the aircraft's largest operator, formally retired the aircraft in favour of what many call its spiritual successor: the AEF-88 Elanus and the AEF-94 Accipeter.

The Monoceros, which was introduced around the same time as the AEF-75 Aquila, was intended to fill the gaps left by the heavier and less agile Aquila. Thew Monoceros proved to be sufficient in areas such as dog fighting, acceleration, speed and manoeuvrability. Despite these successes, the aircraft's reliability left much to be desired. This is often attributed to the Aerobus consortium's focus on the development of the Aquila.

The production improvement programme, which spawned the AEF-77PIP in 1984, resolved most if not all issues concerning reliability. Regardless of the technical successes of the production improvement programme, it was widely regarded as having come too late, as many countries had opted to adopt the more modern, reliable and capable AEF-88 Elanus rather than the PIP-variant of the Moneceros.