Daesŭngri DS-2

Daesŭngri DS-2
Role	Fighter aircraft
National origin	DPRM
Designer	Daesŭngri Aviation Bureau
Introduction	1967
Primary users	Menghean People's Army (historical) Dzhungestani Air Force (historical)
Produced	1967-1979
Number built	2,500+
Developed from	MiG Ye-2

The Daesŭngri DS-2 (Formal designation: 대승리 2호 전투기 / 大勝利二號戰鬪機, Daesŭngri I-ho Jŏntugi, "Daesŭngri No.2 Fighter;" Short designation 대승리-2 Daesŭngri-i "Daesŭngri-2") is a single-engine jet fighter produced in the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe. It was derived from the Letnian Ye-2 prototype fighter, which served as a precursor to the MiG-21, but ultimately diverged from the MiG-21 in design and evolution, most notably through its retention of swept wings.

With over 2,500 airframes completed during 12 years of production, the DS-2 is the most widely produced Menghean combat aircraft since the end of the Pan-Septentrion War. While a fairly successful design in its own right, it was already nearing obsolescence at the time of its introduction, and it was eventually superseded by the Daesŭngri DS-5. In 1993 it was retired from active service with the Menghean Army, though DS-2D2 airframes are still used by some jet training units as of 2019.

Design and development

During the Menghean War of Liberation, the Menghean communists' main fighter aircraft was the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, imported from Letnia via Polvokia. Following the war's end, the MiG-17 was license-produced in Menghe as the Daesŭngri DS-1. Yet even as the production lines were being set up, Menghean military planners still saw the need for a more advanced fighter aircraft.

In 1965, the Menghean government sent their Letnian contacts a request for license-production of the more advanced MiG-21. The Letnian government refused the initial offer, as the MiG-21 was their most advanced fighter aircraft at the time, and Menghe's radical communist government was not considered reliable as an ally. The Menghean People's Army also viewed the MiG-21's delta-wing layout as sub-optimal, believing from combat experience during the War of Liberation that swept-wing plane with better turning performance would be more effective. After Menghean negotiators turned down a license for the MiG-19, also considered outdated, the two sides came to an agreement: Letnia would send Menghe its Ye-2 prototype, plus documentation related to the MiG-21 project, and Menghe would use this as the basis to produce a less advanced domestic fighter.

To improve upon the Ye-2 design, Daesŭngri assembled a team of aviation engineers with experience designing aircraft for the Greater Menghean Empire, as well as personnel brought in from Polvokia and Letnia. As Menghean pilots in the War of Liberation had mainly relied on maneuverability to defeat more modern opponents, Daesŭngri took a number of steps to lighten the airframe, and used a thinner frame on the forward canopy and windshield to improve visibility. In response to stability and endurance problems which early MiG-21 pilots had encountered, the layout of the internal fuel tanks was revised to keep the center of gravity constant as fuel levels changed, and the rear horizontal stabilizers were enlarged.

Most components of the airframe, including the large wing fences, were borrowed from the Ye-2A, but early production models used the same engine as the original Ye-2. The first Menghean-built prototype made its maiden flight in early 1967, and the plane was accepted for mass production later that year at a factory which had been set up after the war's end. It initially bore the designation "Type 67 fighter," but it was later renamed DS-2.

At a time when many air forces were shifting their attention to speed and missiles, the DS-2 clung to a more traditional view of aerial combat. The main armament consisted of a pair of 23mm cannons located in the wing roods, with 120 rounds per gun. The original DS-2G had no external hardpoints, a deliberate design choice which reduced weight and drag but also prevented it from carrying missiles, bombs, or external fuel tanks. It also lacked an air-to-air radar, with the pilot relying on a ringed reflector sight to estimate the range to the target.

As the drawbacks of this approach grew apparent, the DS-2 was modified to improve its capabilities. The DS-2N, introduced in 1970, added four under-wing hardpoints for license-built YGG-1 missiles or 750-L fuel tanks. The modified nose cone could adjust position to control the amount of airflow to the engine, and contained a ranging radar with a maximum range of 12 kilometers, though it was not able to guide SARH missiles. The DS-2N also came with a two-seat trainer variant for easier lead-in conversion.

Operational history

With over 2,400 airframes produced, the DS-2 is the most widely produced Menghean aircraft of the postwar period.

It had only limited success on the international market, in part because it was already obsolete by the time Menghe began offering it for export. Azbekistan purchased 170 airframes over the course of the 1970s, and some of these remain in reserve service. Thirty-eight DS-2Gs were supplied to Dzhungestan's communist forces in 1973. Polvokia and Maverica made no purchases, instead buying the MiG-21.

Variants

• DS-2G: Original production version lacking radar and hardpoints. 468 built.
• DS-2N: Improved single-seater variant with external hardpoints, modified nose cone, and ranging radar. Introduced in 1971; 1197 built.
• DS-2N2: Two-seat trainer variant of the DS-2N.
• DS-2NHJ: DS-2 capable of being fitted with external solid-fuel rockets for zero-length launch operations.
• DS-2JCh: Tentative designation for a dedicated reconnaissance version with a camera pod mounted under the fuselage. Two prototypes produced.
• DS-2PJG: Unmanned drone used for target practice. Converted from retired airframes during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
• DS-2LD: Prototype with a completely redesigned nose section, featuring a conventional radar nosecone in front of the cockpit with the intakes moved to either side. Five produced between 1975 and 1977; eventually rejected in favor of the DS-5.
• DS-2HHJ: DS-2 airframe converted to a cruise missile with a nuclear warhead, first unveiled in 1986. Dayashinese intelligence originally believed it was manned, but guidance actually relied on an inertial navigation system; while it was never tested, accuracy probably would have been poor.
• DS-2 Hwasaldae: Modified DS-2N with modern avionics, a new engine, and weapons removed. It is used by the "silver arrows" aerobatic group.