Early ambitions to produce a supersonic fighter were scuppered by Britain's unwillingness to permit the desired engine to be license-produced in Eastern Europe.

During the 1990s, the type saw action during the Yugoslav Wars, typically flying ground-attack missions in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,[citation needed] and Kosovo.

During 1970, the neighbouring nations of Romania and Yugoslavia began discussions on the subject of jointly developing a new ground-attack orientated fighter aircraft.

According to aviation author John C. Fredriksen, the announcement was a logical extension of political policy, as the two nations' heads of state, Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia and Nicolae Ceaușescu, had both historically sought to avoid overreliance upon the Soviet Union, preferring to build ties and cooperative projects with other friendly or neutral nations.

[citation needed] The aircraft was intended to be a replacement for both the lightly armed Soko J-21 Jastreb and the Republic F-84 Thunderjet that were then in the Yugoslav People's Army's (JNA) arsenal.

[citation needed] The resulting design was of a conventional twin-engine monoplane, featuring a high-mounted wing complete with all-swept flight surfaces.

Due to political sensitivities and a strong desire to avoid one nation upstaging the other, the aircraft featured two separate names; in Romania, it was known as the IAR-93 Vultur while in Yugoslavia it was referred to as the J-22 Orao.

[citation needed] In its place, the less-powerful Rolls-Royce Viper was chosen as the powerplant, as Soko already possessed experience with license-building this engine.

Due to these complications, none of the pre-production aircraft or any early production examples would be equipped with afterburners; these would be largely restricted to conducting reconnaissance missions.

[3][4] During 31 October 1974, the Yugoslav prototype 25002 conducted its first flight from Batajnica Air Base near Belgrade, with Major Vladislav Slavujević at the controls.

[citation needed] The J-22 Orao is a twin-engined combat jet aircraft designed for performing close air support (CAS), ground-attack and tactical reconnaissance missions, it also features a limited air-defense capability.

[2] In terms of defensive sensors and systems, it was equipped with an Iskra SO-1 radar warning receiver (RWR) and provision for up to three chaff/flare dispensers, as well as a P10-65-13 passive jammer pod.

[citation needed] During 1991, the first offensive action to be conducted by the J-22 occurred when the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) used them to strike targets in Croatia.

[citation needed] As a result of the conflicts of the 1990s, the majority of the former Yugoslav Air Force's aircraft were relocated to the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, with smaller numbers ending up under the control of the other new states created by the break-up of Yugoslavia.

Colonel Života Ðurić, was lost on 25 March 1999 in unclear circumstances, either through malfunction, pilot error or ground fire from KLA units.