Corvus

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Corvus
Corvus.jpg
Role Ground attack aircraft
National origin Republic of Syara
First flight 1978
Introduction 1980
Retired 2014
Status In limited service
Primary user Syaran Army Air Corps
Commonality Air Force
Produced 1980-2010
Number built 900+

The Corvus is a single-engine, advanced jet trainer and light ground-attack aircraft first introduced by the Republic of Syara in 1978. The Corvus was intended to supplement the earlier Strix aircraft, operating as a training aircraft while also being capable of serving as a attack aircraft. Introduced just three years before the Refusal War, the Corvus was the last aircraft to be fielded by the Syaran Army Air Corps before its dissolution at the end of the conflict.

While only 86 had been built before the Refusal War, the relatively simple design allowed the Commonality Air Force to restart production in 1992. The cheap, easy-to-operate aircraft was widely popular with Syaran pilots, most of whom trained on the aircraft at one point or another. Following the outbreak of the Zemplen War, hundreds of Corvus airframes were pressed into service to provide close-air support for the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces. The decision proved costly; the Corvus's light airframe made it exceptionally vulnerable to Ruvelkan ground fire and air defense systems, especially MANPADS and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.

A total of 171 Corvus's were lost or written off during the war, more than any other aircraft in the Syaran arsenal. Production of the aircraft ceased almost immediately after the war ended and in 2014 the aircraft was retired from active service. Shorlty afterwards the CAF altered its doctrine for close air support, shfiting focus from fixed wing subsonic aircraft to drones and attack helicopters. The Corvus remains in limited service with Syara.