The G-2 was developed during the 1950s by the Aeronautical Technical Institute at Žarkovo as a replacement for the Lockheed T-33 in service with the Yugoslav Air Force (RV i PVO).

The principal purpose for the development of the Galeb was to produce a domestic replacement for the American-built Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, which at the time was the most commonly used jet trainer aircraft in use by the Yugoslav Air Force; the Galeb was to be capable of meeting the varied qualities and requirements involved in performing ab initio, intermediate, and advanced instructional training missions.

[3] a significant proportion of components and ancillary equipment, such as the powerplant, ejector seats, and navigational fittings amongst others, that were installed upon the aircraft had been sourced from or were directly produced by a range of British aerospace manufacturers.

[3] According to aviation publication Flight International, the heavy proportion of British equipment employed upon the Galeb was a decisive factor in the appearance of the aircraft at the 1968 Farnborough Airshow.

[3] On 3 July 1961, the maiden flight of the first of these prototypes, referred to as Galeb 1, was performed by test pilot captain Ljubomir Zekavica.

[citation needed] During flight tests, a maximum speed of 812 km/h (440 kt) at 6,200 m (20,100 ft) was achieved in clean configuration, with no paint and a polished airframe.

[citation needed] According to Soko's chief test pilot, captain Dusan Krvavica, the Galeb is "unfatiguing and easy to fly"; other favourable attributes of the aircraft include docile stall characteristics and being capable of conservative touchdown speeds.

[6] The Galeb is powered by a single Armstrong Siddeley Viper II Mark 22/6 turbojet engine, capable of providing up to 2,500lb of thrust.

During the early 2000s, a Serbian jet display team, The Stars (aka Zvezde), was formed; they conducted their international debut using a total of four G-2 Galebs at the Air Borne 2007 airshow at the Rakica.

United Nations personnel stationed in Croatia observed multiple Galebs depart Udbina in Serb-controlled territory to conduct strike missions.

[citation needed] The fate of at least one J-21 Jastreb was not much better: Ratko Turčinović, one of the Serbian mercenaries, was killed while flying an ultra-low-level pass over Gbadolite and clipping a lamp post with his wing.

[12] After this event, the Serbs were expelled and the Jastrebs and Galebs were abandoned along with the MiG-21s and two Mi-24s which were meant to be put together by group of Russian or Ukrainian technicians at Gbadolite but the assembly work was never completed.

[citation needed] The Libyan Air Force was a prolific operator of the type; by 2002, it reportedly possessed a total of 80 G-2 Galeb aircraft remaining in its inventory.

[13] The type was used extensively during the 2011 Libyan civil war by government forces fighting against a popular uprising centered in the Eastern region of Libya.

On 24 March 2011, one G-2 Galeb was destroyed after landing by a French Air Force Dassault Rafale after it had violated the declared No-Fly Zone over Misrata.

[16] During the current Second Libyan Civil War, Islamist forces from Libya Dawn (led by the unrecognized new General National Congress based in Tripoli) are reported to have two to four Galebs in service.