Business news

MINSK, 15 April (BelTA) – The first combat and training aircraft Yak-130 for the Belarusian army has been delivered to the city of Lida, representatives of the Belarusian Defense Ministry told BelTA.

The aircraft was delivered in a disassembled form by an IL-76 cargo aircraft. It will be assembled by Russian specialists later on. These aircraft will improve flight personnel training capacity right up to training how to fly prospective fifth-generation aircraft, explained the Defense Ministry.

The source added that the Russian R&D corporation Irkut is expected to deliver four combat and training aircraft Yak-130 to the Belarusian army this year in accordance with the Belarusian-Russian agreement on developing military technical cooperation. A team of Air Force and Air Defense specialists continues studying how to fly and provide maintenance services for this kind of aircraft at the aviation personnel training center in the Russian city of Zhukovsky.

Developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau, the two-seat aircraft Yak-130 is designed to offer basic and advanced training for frontline pilots. The aircraft boasts outstanding maneuverability and modern onboard radio equipment and electronics, which state-of-the-art combat aircraft use. The aircraft also has increased reliability and a long service life. Yak-130 is the world’s only training aircraft that can boast the aerodynamic configuration and subsonic flight performance matching those of modern fighter jets. The aircraft can carry up to 3,000kg of combat payload (guided and unguided missiles and bombs, cannons and so on) using nine external suspensions.