The IAR 316 is a Romanian license-built

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

SA 316B Alouette III manufactured by

Industria Aeronautică Română Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) (now IAR S.A. Brașov) or Romanian Aeronautic Industry in English, is a Romanian aerospace manufacturer. It is based in Ghimbav, near Brașov, Romania. IAR was founded in 1925 with the aid of the Romanian go ...

(IAR).

Design and development

IAR 316

IAR began manufacturing the IAR 316 in 1971 at its plant near

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Production ended in 1987. 250 units were built, 125 of those were built for the

Military of Romania The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian Armed Forces ( ro, Forțele Armate Române or ''Armata Română''). The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu who is managed ...

, which still uses it to this day in a training capacity. Some IAR 316s were operated in the civilian role in Romania and others were exported to various nations, including

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

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, and

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. The IAR 316 was modified to carry weapons more common in the Eastern-bloc, such as 57mm rocket pods, 7.62mm machine guns, and anti-tank missiles. An early example was exhibited at the

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...

in June 1973.

IAR 317

The IAR 317 Airfox was an attempt by IAR to make an attack helicopter out of the IAR 316. Equipped with the same license-produced

Turbomeca Artouste The Turbomeca Artouste is an early French turboshaft engine, first run in 1947. Originally conceived as an auxiliary power unit (APU), it was soon adapted to aircraft propulsion, and found a niche as a powerplant for turboshaft-driven helicopter ...

IIIB turboshaft, the IAR 317 featured a stepped two-seat armored cockpit for the pilot and the gunner. The tail boom and rear fuselage was almost identical to the 316. Stub wings mounted on either side of the airframe allowed for the carriage of weapons, including rocket pods, machine guns, and anti-tank missiles. Only one prototype was built. It participated in the

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Operators

; *

National Air Force of Angola The National Air Force of Angola or FANA ( pt, Força Aérea Nacional de Angola) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Angola. With an inventory of more than 300 aircraft, FANA is (on paper) one of the largest and strongest air forces of A ...

; *

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

Specifications (IAR 316)

Aérospatiale Alouette III orthographical image

References