“Indispensable for preparing for military missions”: what are the export prospects of the Russian Yak-130

On Sunday, November 17, the Dubai Airshow 2019 international air show opens in the UAE, in which the Yak-130 Russian combat training aircraft will take part for the first time. The machine will take part in the flight program of the exhibition, which will last until November 21. This was reported in the press center of the Irkut Corporation, at the capacities of which the Yak-130 is mass-produced.

“During the flight program, an aircraft under the control of test pilot Vasily Sevastyanov and test navigator Mikhail Kudryashov will demonstrate its high maneuverability. The crew held their first training session in the skies of Dubai on November 14, ”the report said.

In 2019, the Yak-130 was demonstrated at the international exhibition of aerospace and marine equipment LIMA in Malaysia, the FAMEX aerospace show in Mexico, the Army military-technical forum and the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) in the suburbs.

With a maximum take-off mass of 10.3 tons, a length of 11.49 m and a wingspan of 9.84 m, the Yak-130 has a range of up to 2100 km and a practical ceiling of 12.5 km. The AI-222-25 dual-circuit turbojet engine provides a thrust of 5000 kgf. The aircraft is capable of speeds up to 1060 km / h and is in the air for up to three hours (with two outboard fuel tanks). The manufacturer estimates the resource of the machine at 10 thousand flight hours, or 30 years.

"Insures him from serious mistakes"

Work on the Yak-130 began within the walls of the Yakovlev Design Bureau in the first half of the 1990s. The aircraft was created as a more economical and functional alternative to the Czechoslovak UBS L-39 “Albatross” as part of the competition of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The Italian company Aermacchi showed interest in a promising domestic car, but at the end of 1999 it left the project. Subsequently, this company introduced its own UBS Aeromachhi M 346, which looks very similar to the Yak-130. Now this machine is in service with the air forces of Italy, Israel, Poland and Singapore.

The prototype Yak-130D first flew in April 1996. The flight took place at the airport of the Gromov LII in Zhukovsky. The plane was piloted by Andrei Sinitsyn, who in May of that year received the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for his contribution to the testing of the latest aircraft technology.

By 1999, the Yak-130D completed over 400 flights. On April 16, 2002, the Yak-130 was declared the winner of the competition of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. However, the state test cycle of the aircraft ended only in 2009.

In the mid-2000s, Yakovlev Design Bureau specialists developed a serial model of their brainchild. The Yak-130 turned out to be lighter than the experimental version. In the updated car, the cross section of the nose of the fuselage changed slightly: the designers made it more rounded for the installation of a radar station. On the wing of the serial Yak-130 appeared additional pylons for hanging missiles and containers with electronic warfare.

Aircraft production began at the Sokol enterprise in Nizhny Novgorod, and then at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. Since 2010, these machines have been operated by units and schools of the Russian Air Force (now the Air Force Forces); since 2011, Irkut has been exporting them.

The Yak-130 became the first military aircraft in Russia to be fully equipped with digital equipment. The electro-remote control system installed on it allows you to simulate the behavior of any modern combat aircraft by changing the characteristics and dynamic parameters.

At this UBS cadets can learn to perform such complex elements as “stall” and “corkscrew”. At the same time, the Yak-130 is distinguished by its loyalty to the mistakes of beginners - the machine maintains the stability and controllability necessary to ensure flight safety.

According to the manufacturer, future pilots can go through the Yak-130 all stages of training: primary, basic and advanced. It is noted that the cost of one flight hour of UBS for solving comparable problems is several times lower than that of modern counterparts in fighter aircraft - MiG-29UB and Su-27UB.

“Perhaps the main advantages of the Yak-130 are aerodynamics and on-board equipment, which simulates the controllability of any other aircraft with large dimensions and weight. This is an incredibly flexible car. The Yak-130 allows the cadet to work out many elements and at the same time insures it from serious pilot errors that can lead to an accident, ”Dmitry Dyakonov, chief designer of KB-602 at the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI), said in an interview with RT.

“Very popular”

In turn, Major General Vladimir Popov, Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation, called the Yak-130 a highly efficient and inexpensive machine. In his opinion, the aerodynamic and flight characteristics of the aircraft are such that the pilot, "flew off the prescribed number of hours on the Yak-130, can successfully master the fourth and even fifth generation aircraft."

According to the interlocutor of RT, the most eloquent about the capabilities of the Yak-130 are nine world records that were set on these UBS in 2016. In particular, the Russian machine was recognized as the best in the world in terms of rate of climb with an takeoff weight of 6 to 9 tons. Also, domestic UBS, according to Popov, is "indispensable for preparing young pilots for combat missions."

“The Yak-130 can be successfully used for training in conditions close to the combat situation, with the real use of weapons. To optimize the learning process, a training mode for simulating the combat use of weapons for air and ground targets has been implemented, ”says the materials of Irkut.

In the context of hostilities, the brainchild of the Yakovlev Design Bureau can be operated as a light attack aircraft. Within a radius of 680 km, the Yak-130 is capable of using R-73E air-to-air missiles with infrared homing heads, KAB-500Kr high-precision air bombs with a television guidance system, a variety of 50, 100, 250, 500 kilogram bombs, C- unguided missiles 8, C-13, C-25.

In addition, a hanging container SNPU-130 with an automatic gun GSH-23L can be installed on the machine. The total mass of the combat load of the Yak-130 can reach three tons. The aircraft is capable of destroying ground, sea and air targets in difficult weather conditions.

In addition to the Russian Air Force, the Yak-130 is operated by the Air Force of Belarus, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Laos. In 2011, 16 Yak-130 aircraft were delivered to Algeria. According to Rosoboronexport, the domestic UBS "is very popular abroad."

• Preparation for the flight of the Yak-130
• © Irkut Corporation

In March 2019, a representative of Rosoboronexport Sergei Gorbenko said that Moscow was implementing contracts for the supply of about 100 Yak-130 aircraft. In June, the director general of the organization, Alexander Mikheev, spoke about plans to modernize the aircraft to increase its supply abroad. In particular, the machine can get a new locator and light weapons.

As noted by Dmitry Dyakonov, there are no serious obstacles to increasing the export of the Yak-130, with the exception of US political pressure on Moscow’s foreign partners. He called the Yak-130 a universal machine, which can be in demand in almost all countries with combat aircraft.

“An important export advantage of our aircraft is that it can be used by states that do not have Russian fighters and bombers in service. A cadet trained in the Yak-130 can confidently land in the cabin of the American F-15, F-16, F-22, F-35, as well as any European aircraft, ”Dyakonov explained.

A similar point of view is shared by Vladimir Popov. He said that the export version of the Yak-130 allows the buyer to download control programs other than Russian ones. The potential market for the Russian car, according to Major General, is extremely wide.

“As far as I know, the countries of Latin America and the Middle East have a rather large need for educational equipment. This is where Moscow needs to be watched. In addition, it is appropriate to include our partners who already operate the Yak-130 and domestic operational tactical aircraft in the list of potential buyers. These are mainly the countries of Southeast Asia, ”Popov concluded.