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Romania Aircraft Industry
The aircraft industry in Romania dates from 1925, when
the
first airplane factory began operation in Brasov.
Following World
War II, the few production facilities not retooled for
other
purposes built only light planes and gliders. But in 1968,
in
keeping with PCR aspirations of economic autonomy, the
government
revived production of heavy aircraft and established the
National
Center of the Romanian Aircraft Industry under the
Ministry of
Machine Building. The center oversaw the operation of
airframe
plants in Craiova, Bacau, Bucharest, and Brasov, and the
Turbomecanica plant in Bucharest, where all the jet
engines for
Romanian-built planes were manufactured.
Romania was able to acquire both Western and Soviet
technology
to manufacture modern aircraft. The most successful
projects
involving such technology transfer included the
Soviet-designed
Yak-52 piston-engine two-seater (the primary trainer used
in the
Soviet Union) and Ka-126 agricultural-use helicopter; the
Rombac 1-
11 airliner, built under license from British Aerospace
using a
fuselage designed by British Airways and a Rolls-Royce
engine;
Viper engines built under license from Rolls-Royce; and
the Frenchdesigned IAR-316 Allouette III and IAR-330 Puma
helicopters. A
noteworthy example of homegrown aircraft design was the
IAR-93 Orao
combat aircraft and a later model, the IAR-99, which were
developed
jointly with Yugoslavia.
Data as of July 1989
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