Manufacturer catalog
SOKO was a Yugoslav aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Mostar, then in the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was one of the central aircraft producers for the Yugoslav aviation industry. Public historical sources describe the plant as founded in 1950, later known as Soko Aircraft Industry, and associated with domestic combat aircraft, trainers, and license-built helicopters before the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian War ended its role as an aircraft producer.
3 weaponsSOKO grew out of Yugoslavia's postwar aviation-industrial expansion and concentrated production around a large Mostar factory complex near Mostar Airport. A 2025 aerospace-history review describes SOKO as headquartered in Mostar, founded in 1950 under the Factory SOKO name, later renamed Soko Aircraft Industry, and supported by a wider local engineering base that supplied workers, testing, and technical collaboration.
The manufacturer is important to the catalog because several Yugoslav aircraft families were produced at Mostar or publicly identified with the SOKO name. Those include the J-22 Orao ground-attack aircraft, the G-4 Super Galeb jet trainer/light attack aircraft, and the Yugoslav license-built Gazelle helicopter family. Airbus states that more than 160 SA 341/SA 342 Gazelle helicopters were produced under license by the Soko plant in Mostar from 1971 to 1991.
SOKO's industrial record is historical rather than current. The breakup of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian War left the Mostar aviation industry damaged, with sources describing machinery and infrastructure as destroyed, stolen, abandoned, or relocated. Surviving aircraft, museum records, and later Serbian service references now provide much of the public documentation for SOKO-linked systems.
The Aeronautical Museum in Belgrade says the G-4 was developed by the Aviation Technical Institute and produced by the Soko aircraft factory from Mostar, with serial production beginning in 1983.
Sources: Soko G-4 Super Galeb - Aeronautical Museum
The J-22 Orao was a Yugoslav-Romanian fighter-bomber program; the Mostar aviation history review identifies the Soko Mostar factory as the Yugoslav production site.
Sources: The Aviation History of Yugoslavia
Airbus states that more than 160 SA 341/SA 342 Gazelle helicopters were produced under license by the Soko plant in Mostar from 1971 to 1991.
Sources: Serbia and Airbus Helicopters expand partnershipA 2025 aerospace-history review identifies SOKO as a Mostar-based Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer founded in 1950 under the Factory SOKO name and later renamed Soko Aircraft Industry.
Sources: The Aviation History of Yugoslavia
The same review says SOKO released the domestically developed G-2 Galeb in 1961, a key step in the Mostar factory's postwar military-aircraft production role.
Sources: The Aviation History of Yugoslavia
Airbus describes the Soko plant in Mostar as producing SA 341/SA 342 Gazelle helicopters under license from 1971 through 1991.
Sources: Serbia and Airbus Helicopters expand partnership
The Aeronautical Museum in Belgrade says the J-22 Orao's first prototype flew in 1974 as part of a Yugoslav-Romanian fighter-bomber program.
Sources: Soko J-22 Orao - Aeronautical Museum
The Aeronautical Museum says the G-4 Super Galeb's first prototype flew in 1978 and serial production at SOKO began in 1983.
Sources: Soko G-4 Super Galeb - Aeronautical Museum
The Mostar aviation history review says the breakup of Yugoslavia and subsequent conflicts led to the collapse of the aviation industry in Mostar, with SOKO infrastructure largely destroyed, stolen, abandoned, or otherwise lost.
Sources: The Aviation History of Yugoslavia
SOKO is a defunct Yugoslav aerospace manufacturer with no active official company website. The website field points to a stable aerospace-history review because the manufacturer no longer maintains a corporate site; headquarters coordinates are omitted because this pass used reliable headquarters-place sourcing but no precise official map coordinate source.
Category
Crewed aircraft, drones, and loitering munitions.
