Irkut has signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply additional Yakovlev Yak-130 advanced jet trainer aircraft to the national Air Force.
Irkut president Oleg Demchenko was quoted by RIA Novostias saying during the ongoing Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore that the company will supply a total of 12 aircraft for formation of Russia’s third aerobatics team.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
"We will supply five planes in 2014, and the remaining seven – in 2015," Demchenko daid.
The MoD has already started formation of a group at the Borisoglebsk training centre in central Russia.
"Our testing pilot, Oleg Kononenko, has been training [the Yak-130] instructors at this center for six months," Demchenko added.
Developed by Yakovlev design bureau, the Yak-130 is a subsonic, swept mid-wing advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft
designed to provide basic and advanced training to pilots for flying fourth and fifth-generation fighter aircraft, such as Sukhoi T-50.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataCapable of carrying a combat load of 3,000kg and operating from unpaved runways and airfields, the twin Progress AI-222-25 turbofan powered aircraft can also conduct light-attack and reconnaissance missions at subsonic speeds of 600mph, in all weather conditions.
The aircraft is equipped with advanced digital avionics, a full digital glass cockpit, a quadruplex-channel digital fly-by-wire system (FBWS) and an instructor controlled and variable FBW handling characteristics and embedded simulation.
Operational with the Russian and Algerian air forces, the aircraft has also been ordered by Bangladesh, Libya, Syria and Vietnam.
Russia currently has two aerobatic teams, namely Russkiye Vityazi with a fleet of four Sukhoi Su-27P and two Sukhoi Su-27UB Flanker fighter aircraft, and Strizhi, who operate six MiG-29 Fulcrum fourth-generation fighter aircraft, according to the news agency.
Image: A Russian Air Force’s Yak-130 trainer aircraft in flight. Photo: courtesy of Adrian.
