Cycnus

Cycnus
Role	Fighter aircraft
National origin	Republic of Syara
First flight	1962
Introduction	1966
Retired	1990
Status	Retired
Primary user	Syaran Army Air Corps
Produced	1966-1976
Number built	350

The Cycnus was a supersonic jet fighter built by the Republic of Syara. After acquiring the supersonic light fighter Erinys in 1963, the Syaran Army Air Corps expressed a desire for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Cycnus, inspired heavily by fighter aircraft developed by Cacerta, was intended to operate as a day/night interceptor and fighter aircraft. Equipped with a more powerful radar than many of its contemporaries, the Cycnus could reach speeds of Mach 2.2, making it one of Syara's fastest fighter jets. Primary armarment of the Cycnus was 2 or 4 air-to-air missiles, and became the first Syaran aircraft to carry only beyond-visual-range weaponry, although some aircraft were armed with within-visual-range missiles.

Introduced in 1966, the Cycnus saw extensive service during the Granika Border War, where its primary opponent was the AFASF-10 Donnola Air Superiority Fighter. Clashes with the Ruvelkan Imperial Air Force would provide most of its combat experience, during which 33 Cycnuses were shot down. The acquisition of the Nephele in the mid-1970s brought an end to the Cycnus, and it was steadily phased out of active service in the years prior to the Refusal War. Following the establishment of the Commonality, the Commonality Air Force officially retired the Cycnus in 1990, citing the airframe's old age and design. A total of 12 aircraft remain on display across Syara.