Songrim SR-12
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| Songrim SR-12 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Multirole stealth aircraft |
| National origin | Menghe |
| Manufacturer | Songrim Aircraft Corporation |
| First flight | 2015 |
| Introduction | 2023 (planned IOC) |
| Primary user | Menghe |
| Produced | 2019-present |
The Songrim SR-12 ((Formal designation: 송림 12호 공격기 / 松林十二號攻擊機, Songrim Sibi-ho Jŏntugi, "Songrim No.12 Fighter;" Short designation 송림-12 Songrim-Sibi "Songrim-12") is an all-weather twinjet fifth-generation jet fighter developed in Menghe by the Songrim Aircraft Corporation. It is designed as a multirole combat aircraft capable of taking on both air superiority and precision ground attack roles.
After a long development project spanning the 2000s, the SR-12 made its first flight in February 2014, and was first publicly unveiled at the 2018 National Day celebration. As of May 2019, a small number of production-model SR-12 airframes are in service with a training and evaluation squadron, but no deliveries to combat-ready units have been made.
Development
Preliminary work
The Songrim Aircraft Corporation began preliminary work on a stealth fighter some time around 1999 or 2000, producing a series of conceptual sketches under the designation "JG-S." Most of this work was done under the leadership of Han Mun-su, a talented designer and advocate of stealth aircraft. The Ministry of National Defense initially expressed little interest in the aircraft, as no other country in Septentrion was close to putting a 5th-generation fighter into service, but Han argued successfully for a small stream of funding to support conceptual projects.
State interest in a fifth-generation fighter increased after 2005, when relations with Tyran, Innominada, and Maverica soured over the Ummayan Civil War. The MoND's initial emergency plan focused on accelerating procurement of existing designs and pushing in-progress weapons into service, but by 2010 Han Mun-su and his work team were given the green light to expand the JG-S project, with new funding tied to the completion of a flyable prototype by May 2013.
Challenges
Even with consistent state support, Songrim's JG-S project met repeated delays due to the plane's technological complexity. The engineers struggled with radar-absorbent materials and configurations, which were at the cutting edge of even the leading military powers' research. As the JG-S project was a state secret, Songrim was also unable to seek input from engineers in Dayashina and Tír Glas, which closely guarded their own stealth aircraft projects.
These problems were compounded by gradual mission creep. As the years passed, the "fifth-generation" requirement was expanded to include a new sensor suite and electronic warfare system, demanding requirements that called for new electronics and lengthy computer code. While the initial design was purely conceived of as an air superiority fighter, the MoND later insisted on organic ground-attack capability, including the ability to carry 1000-kilogram guided bombs.
Other delays stemmed from the engines: initially Songrim opted to use an up-rated version of the Donghae Type 74 turbojet, itself a licensed TF-530, but the increasingly heavy airframe cancelled out the gains from higher wet thrust, and left the plane slower at dry military power. Development of a supercruise-capable engine encountered repeated delays, as the high temperatures and pressures required very durable turbine blades.
As a result of all these delays, by the May 2013 deadline Songrim had failed to produce a full-scale prototype, let alone conduct flight tests. A year later, Songrim delayed its proposed timetable yet again, citing problems with the airframe materials and the engine improvement program. Subsequently released documents suggest that Choe Sŭng-min repeatedly expressed deep dissatisfaction with the prototype's delays and cost overruns, suggesting that the MoND cancel the JG-S and redirect funds toward procurement of more SR-8s and DS-9s. For a time, the stealth skeptics seemed poised to crush the program, but the outbreak of the Innominadan Crisis in September 2014 heightened the sense of urgency around military development. As the Glasic-Hallian Huntress and Letnian MiG-55 fifth-gen fighters entered production overseas, and as tensions with Maverica escalated, Songrim secured new funding for the JG-S, but was also given stern deadlines to put it into service.
Testing
The first test flight with a JG-S prototype took place on May 4th, 2015, and lasted for a total of 25 minutes. No announcements about the test were made, and no photographs were released. After several months of work on avionics, a second, 90-minute flight took place on August 12th. This time, photographs specially approved by the Ministry of National Defense were released to the press, though the announcements that accompanied them said little about the plane's characteristics.
A thin stream of vague but confident reports on JG-S progress continued until early 2016, when the MoND abruptly stopped releasing any information about the new stealth fighter program. Around the same time, online censors began targeting any online or press discussion of the plane's status. Analysts abroad speculated that the program had been cancelled, or that the design team had been purged; only in late 2019 was it confirmed via a leaked document that the second prototype had crashed after one of its experimental Donghae Type 110 engines exploded mid-flight, killing the pilot and destroying the plane.
After the crash, development proceeded more slowly, at the cost of additional delays. The third prototype carried Glasic engines of the same type used on recent Iolar models, imported and later licensed for the SR-8, with more thrust than the first prototype's Type 74 but less than the experimental Type 110. There were also rumors, still unconfirmed, of problems with the fly-by-wire system, the radar, and the lengthy programming tying together the sensor suite.
New images of the fighter were released in early December 2017, ending a year and a half of closely enforced silence, though detailed information remained scarce. A few months later in May, a scale model of the aircraft appeared at a tech expo celebrating the 30th anniversary of Menghe's opening-up and reform, giving visitors the first all-round view of the new aircraft. The model also bore the designation SR-12, a sign that it had been accepted for service, and included a brief description of its capabilities.
The SR-12 made its first public appearance on July 29th, 2019, with three aircraft flying over Donggwangsan during a military parade celebrating the 55th anniversary of Menghe's victory in the War of Liberation. The lead aircraft in the vic formation opened its weapon bays during the flight, revealing an internal payload of six YGG-7 Hwasal and two YGG-5 Dando missiles. The parade announcer also stated that the SR-12 was ready for low rate initial production, with deliveries of production airframes expected to take place the following year. High-definition camera footage of the prototypes gave civilian and foreign analysts the first clear picture of the SR-12, and a few keen observers noted differences between the parade overflight units, apparently production-ready models, and the first prototype revealed in late 2015. In the months that followed the parade reveal, the Ministry of Defense also began publishing more detailed information on the SR-12's features and capabilities, painting a more thorough, if possibly optimistic, picture of Menghe's first fifth-generation fighter.
Design
Layout
Compared to most of Septentrion's other fifth-generation fighter programs, which incorporated lambda wings, diamond wings, and canards, the SR-12 follows a rather conservative tailed delta layout, reminiscent of Songrim's SR-8. Letnia's MiG-55 follows a similar configuration. Some defense analysts have speculated that the SR-12's conventional design may compromise its radar cross-section, with one calling it a "display-only stealth fighter." Others have presented more cautious assessments, noting that it displays good planform alignment and has other RCS-reducing features.
Sensors and electronics
The SR-12 has six infrared-spectrum cameras distributed around the fuselage to provide 360-degree detection and imaging. Conceptually, the array is reminiscent of the Glasic AN/AAQ-37, though Menghean sources claim that the cameras and their network are of domestic design. If functionality is similar between the two systems, these cameras will allow the SR-12 to detect aerial targets, ground vehicles, and missile launches in all directions, improving the pilot's situational awareness.