Songrim SR-7

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Songrim SR-7
Songrim SR-7 topcard.png
Top to bottom: SR-7G early model, SR-7GSs trainer, and SR-7R new-production model with "1" series upgrades.
Role Interceptor

Reconnaissance aircraft

National origin DPRM
Manufacturer Songrim Aircraft Design Bureau
First flight 1977
Introduction 1981
Status in service
Primary user Menghean Army
Produced 1981-1997
Number built 346

The Songrim SR-7 (Formal designation: 송림 6호 전투기 / 松林六號戰鬪機, Songrim Chil-ho Jŏntugi, "Songrim No.7 Fighter;" Short designation 송림-7 Songrim-chil "Songrim-7") is a supersonic, high-altitude fighter-interceptor designed in the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was developed and built in parallel with the more successful Daesŭngri DS-5.

Development

Origins

During the early 1970s, when the DPRM's main fighter aircraft was the Daesŭngri DS-2, the Menghean Ministry of National Defense expressed an interest in acquiring a more modern "third-generation" fighter. The program requirements called for a speed of over Mach 2 in level, high-altitude flight, a service ceiling of over 20,000 meters, and a nose-mounted radar capable of tracking aircraft and targeting air-to-air missiles.

Menghe's two main combat aircraft design bureaus, Songrim and Daesŭngri, both began independent work on their own prototypes. As the Daesŭngri team favored a fast, agile, low-level fighter, Songrim's designers drew up plans for a high-altitude interceptor to complement it. In light of past experience during the Pan-Septentrion War, Menghean military planners viewed bomber aircraft based out of Dayashina as a major threat, and the DS-2 was only able to conduct "point-defense" interception around a small area due to its limited range and speed.

Songrim initially planned to procure a production license for the Letnian Orlov Or-15. Its only previous aircraft, the SR-3, was also an Orlov derivative, and license production would allow for faster entry to service. But Sim Jin-hwan, who came to power in 1971, pushed both bureaus to complete a fully domestic design as a demonstration of Menghe's technological capability. This news came as a boon to Daesŭngri's designers, who were worried that the Army would instead procure the MiG-23, but the Songrim team had little experience with independent design work and initially struggled to keep up.

In an effort to close the expertise with Daesŭngri, which thus far had the most experienced design team, Songrim hired former aviation engineers from Letnia. It is possible that project documentation relating to the Or-15 was also transferred to Menghe, and Western intelligence sources would later erroneously report that the Songrim prototype was a direct descendant of the "Flagon," but Songrim ultimately kept its promise of developing a domestic airframe.

Design phase

To fit the interceptor role, the designers sought a large airframe with high thrust and a long patrol range. The favored layout carried twin R-11 engines, which had the advantage of already being produced in Menghe as the Gi-7, for use in the widely produced DS-2. One paper project in 1974 did call for a single Tumansky R-15, the high-altitude engine used in the MiG-25, but Letnia never approved licensing and the twin-R-11 scheme produced higher thrust.

Even given this powerplant type, there was extensive variation in layout. S-63, the most unconventional proposal, had a chin intake with its twin engines staggered in an over-under configuration. S-65, another, had a single tailless delta wing. Preliminary work eventually settled on the more conservative S-62, which had a tailed delta with small canards on either side of the nose. Two other under-nose-intake configurations were considered, but the Army favored side intakes because they were less likely to suck up debris when operating off of rough airstrips.

The first prototype airframe, S-62-1, conducted its maiden flight in April 1976. All its parts functioned as expected, but at high speeds the canards interfered with the airflow into the intakes, especially during maneuvers. Canard problems were also blamed for the loss of airframe S-62-2, which abruptly banked right and crashed during its first landing approach, killing the test pilot. Test flights of the S-62 were suspended while Songrim worked on a solution; S-64, which had an under-nose intake to avoid canard interference, was flown in its place, but the Army still disapproved of its configuration.

For the next two years, it appeared that the Songrim interceptor project was in danger of cancellation. DS-5 prototypes also suffered their share of crashes, but they were performing well, and some Ministry of Defense officials considered the DS-5 adequately fast to fulfill the interceptor role. The DS-5 did suffer from a highly inadequate radar, but Songrim was no better off, as Letnia was growing hesitant to share engineering secrets. According to rumor, Songrim engineers pressured the Daesŭngri team to constrain the DS-5's high-altitude performance by trimming fuel weight and switching to fixed-angle intakes; a more far-fetched story holds that they pressured Rajland to deploy more bombers in Nukkumaa. What is known is that Songrim's leadership relentlessly lobbied the Menghean Socialist Party to save their interceptor program, even blocking a MiG-25 export deal when one was floated.

Airframe S-66-1 took flight in 1978, and flight tests were resumed. This prototype resembled the S-62, but removed the canards to improve airflow. Because the deletion of the canards had shifted the center of lift, the leading edges of the delta wings were moved further forward, as were the intakes and the entire wing plan itself. A new radar nosecone design, still ballasted with concrete in prototypes, was built to accommodate the Sapfir-23D radar of the Letnian MiG-23, which had been approved for export. S-66-1 and S-66-2 performed well in testing, and the Ministry of Defense accepted it for service in 1980, with production beginning later that year.

Design and characteristics

SR-7G1 at Hansŏl-li airbase, 1998.

The production version of the SR-7 follows a fairly conventional tailed delta wing plan. Many aspects of the plane's layout, including the wing plan, drew influences from the Or-15. Four large rectangular air brakes were arranged around the rear end of the fuselage, and tall rectangular intakes were mounted on either side of the cockpit, with a central radome rather than the nose intakes of the DS-2 and SR-3. Visually, the clearest external differences are the smaller radome and the distinct "spine" on top of the fuselage, as well as the shaping of the engine nozzles.

Thrust is provided by two Gokchŏn Gi-15 turbojets in a side-by-side configuration. Like the Gi-12 powering the DS-5, this is a derivative of the Tumansky R-11; yet while the Gi-12 was lightened and streamlined, the Gi-15 was slightly scaled up, with a diameter of 1,115 millimeters and a thrust of 45 kilonewtons. Fuel consumption in the new engine is higher, but because the SR-7 has generous fuel storage, it boasts a much better combat radius than its swing-wing counterpart.

The SR-7's armament is built around the Sapfir-23D radar in the nose. This is the same radar used on the MiG-23. It has limited look-down/shoot-down capability, though this works by ignoring below-horizon contacts beyond a certain range, so it is not ideal for low-level intercepts. Its range is also limited compared to that of contemporary interceptor radars, even in 1981. This deficiency left the early SR-7s highly dependent on vectoring commands from ground control radars.

The Sapfir-23D can provide guidance for the YGG-3 missile, a copy of the Letnian R-23, and a typical air-to-air loadout consists of two YGG-3 missiles under each wing and two under the fuselage. Notably, the inner under-wing hardpoints are offset forward to keep the missiles free of the landing gear's path of motion. A single NR-23 autocannon under the fuselage exists as a backup option in case all missiles fail to hit.

More fuel and a larger airframe did come at the cost of poor agility. Despite more powerful engines, the SR-7 has a lower thrust-to-weight ratio than the DS-5, and poor turning characteristics at low altitude. While the DS-5's variable-sweep wings gave it good takeoff performance, the SR-7 requires long runways for both takeoff and landing, even with the help of a braking chute. Though in theory its wing loading is lower, the SR-7 performs poorly in dogfights, and ultimately remains a dedicated interceptor with a secondary fighter capability.

Variants

SR-7G:
Initial production version introduced in 1981. It is the most numerous variant, with 175 built.
SR-7GSs:
Twin-seat lead-in trainer variant of the SR-7G with a distinct stepped canopy design. It retains the same radar and combat capability as the SR-7G. 75 built.
SR-7N:
Single-seat high-level reconnaissance aircraft introduced in 1984, fitted with built-in cameras and SIGINT/ELINT equipment. Capable of carrying the YDJ-42 anti-radiation missile and two YGG-2 air-to-air missiles. 12 built.
SR-7D:
Improved reconnaissance aircraft with side-looking airborne radar arrays on either side of the nose for ground-target imaging.
SR-7G1:
Modernization of the SR-7G, with refits conducted between 1993 and 2000. Adds the SR-7R's radar system and compatibility with newer air-to-air missiles.
SR-7GSs1:
Modernization of the SR-7GSs, incorporating the same changes as the SR-7G1.
SR-7R:
The final culmination of the SR-7 series. It incorporated the SR-8G's AN/APG-70 radar in an enlarged nose, giving it greatly improved air-search capabilities even when compared to the SR-7G1. Other changes included an in-flight refueling probe and a Sieuxerrian IRST sensor. 75 airframes were produced between 1993 and 1998, enough to equip six squadrons.
SR-7R1:
Upgrade of the SR-7R modified for compatibility with the YGG-7 Hwasal air-to-air missile. All 74 completed, surviving airframes were modified to R1 standard betwen 2004 and 2007.
SR-7R2:
Upgrade of the SR-7R with improved ECM equipment, new cockpit displays, and compatibility with certain air-to-ground munitions. Modifications applied between 2016 and 2019.

Operational history

Polvokian Civil War

Due to its long operational range, the SR-7 played a major role in intercepting TPR aircraft during Menghe's intervention in the Polvokian Civil War. Because Menghe's first shipment of Iolar-M multiroles was mainly involved in training and familiarization exercises, the SR-7 was the only Menghean fighter aircraft capable of reaching TPR airbases in the lower Buksan mountains from Menghean airfields. After rebel aircraft had been mostly destroyed, SR-7Ds continued to conduct reconnaissance flights over their areas of operation.

Three airframes, two G1 types and one D, were lost, one in aerial combat and two to SAM fire. Two more were damaged during landing accidents in snowy weather. Pilots criticized the SR-7's old electronics and poor maneuverability, as well as its long takeoff and landing distances, though its widely spread landing gear did make for forgiving landings.

Innominadan Crisis

During the Innominadan Crisis, Menghe's operational SR-7Rs were all deployed to the northwest, to guard against the possibility of a Maverican aerial incursion over Dzhungestan. One squadron of SR-7D1s, attached to the Fourth Army, conducted valuable high-level reconnaissance over Innominadan territory, but did not engage in air-to-air combat. One airframe was lost to SAM fire.

Current inventory

Records from the Ministry of National Defense state that in addition to the combat losses above, 18 SR-7s were written off due to crashes and other accidents, leaving a total of 258 airframes in Menghean service once exported aircraft are subtracted. Of these, 71 air superiority airframes, all "R2" variants, remain in service, equipping six squadrons of the 11th Frontal Army Aviation Corps stationed in Dzhungestan. There has been some discussion of extending production of the Songrim SR-8 by another four years past 2025 to re-equip all of these squadrons, but thus far the SR-7 seems poised to remain in service with the help of mid-life upgrades. A further 26 SR-7D reconnaissance airframes also remain in service, though the Menghean Army has increasingly replaced them with unmanned aerial vehicles in exercises.

In addition to these active airframes, an unknown number of older airframes remain in reserve storage and can be made combat-ready in the event of a major war. No exact figures have been published, but based on reported non-combat losses, the number could be no more than 122 SR-7G2s and 17 SR-7GSs2s, likely much less depending on how the aircraft have been stored.

Operators

  •  Dzhungestan: 40 SR-7s purchased in 2016.
  •  Menghe: 26x SR-7D and 71x SR-7R2 currently in service. Up to 100 G and GSs models kept in reserve storage.
  •  Polvokia: 26 SR-7G1 and GSs1 models purchased in 2003.

Specifications (SR-7G1)

Songrim SR-7 3-view.png

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: including nose probe: 22.45 m (73.65 ft)
  • Wingspan: 9.49 m (31.13 ft)
  • Height: 5.18 m (16.98 ft)
  • Wing area: 43.75 m2 (470.9 ft2)
  • Empty weight: 10,830 kg (23,880 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 17,260 kg (38,050 lb)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 20,786 kg (45,825 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Gokchŏn Gi-15 afterburning turbojet
    • Dry thrust: 45.1 kN (10,138 lbf) each
    • Thrust with afterburner: 68.6 kN (15,422 lbf) each

Performance

Armament

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