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 2.8. 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.
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. Most of the Coronis fleet, organized into the 1st and 2nd Heavy Bomber Wings, were based out of Scitaria and largely fell into Warden hands upon the outbreak of the Refusal War. The Coronis was employed heavily by the Wardens to strike Royalist and allied fleets during the war, being the most long-range strike platform in the Warden arsenal. The maintenance heavy nature of the aircraft, combined with its frequent usage and losses diminished the fleet significantly, and by the end of hostilities just five aircraft remained operational. The remaining aircraft were retired from service in 1993 by the Commonality Air Force.