Yak-130

The Yakovlev Design Bureau started the development of a new operational training airplane for the Russian Air Force in the early 1990s.

The innovative concept was completed and approved by the Ministry of Defense of Russia in 1993. The design was recommended for full-scale development based on its selection from bids.

Due to lack of funding from the government, the management of Yakovlev Design Bureau decided to implement the project in cooperation with Aermacchi (Italy). Cooperation under this program continued from 1993 to 1999.

A test pilot from the Yakovlev Design Bureau, Andrey Sinitsyn, operated the first flight of the Yak-130D demonstration airplane from Gromov airfield on April 25, 1996.

The Yak-130 was declared the winner of the Russian Defense Ministry’s tender on April 16, 2002.

Senior test pilot of the Yakovlev Design Bureau, Hero of Russia Roman Taskaev, lifted off on the first Yak-130, in full production configuration manufactured at the Sokol aircraft-manufacturing plant in Nizhny Novgorod, on April 30, 2004.

The Irkutsk Aviation Plant, where the digitalized production of the Yak-130 had been arranged, and which later would become the exclusive supplier of the new airplane, joined the production effort in 2006.
Official tests were successfully completed in 2009.

These airplanes have been operated by the Russian Air Force since February 2010, and exported by the Irkut Corporation since 2011. 

Presently, the Irkut Corporation performs the entire scope of work listed under the Yak-130 program:

- Improvements are designed by the A. Yakovlev Engineering Center – the main design unit of PJSC Irkut Corporation;

- Production is concentrated at Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a branch of PJSC Irkut Corporation;

- PJSC Irkut Corporation provides for the marketing, sale, supply, and after-sales service of Yak-130s, collaborating with the RF Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation and OJSC Rosoboronexport in compliance with applicable Russian legislation.

Purpose and capacity

The Yak-130 combat training aircraft has an aerodynamic configuration and subsonic flight performance similar to those of modern combat aircraft.

The Yak-130 can be successfully used for training under the conditions close to a combat situation with simulated or real use of air-to-air/air-to-ground weapons.

The combat training mode allows training pilots without real fitting of aircraft weapons.

The Yak-130 is one of the main components of the training complex, which also includes an integrated live monitoring and recording system, computer training classes, procedure trainer, flight simulators and specialized simulators.

Armament

The Yak-130 is capable of carrying up to 3,000 kg of combat load (guided and unguided missiles and bombs, cannons, etc.) on nine external points.

As an option, the aircraft can be equipped with a laser rangefinder, an optical locator station, defensive aids, an on-board radar station, and modern aviation weapons after implementing the necessary measures at the customer’s expense.

Distinctive features

The Yak-130 is effectively operated in all flight modes due to:

• great aerodynamics;
  

• excellent maneuverability;
  

• flight capabilities at high angles of attack;
  

• high thrust-to-weight ratio;
  

• outstanding take-off and landing performance;
  

• high rate-of-climb.
  

The Yak-130 is a classic monoplane with a mid-mounted swept wing and an all-flying horizontal tail. The developed wing strakes and air inlet configuration ensure a stable controlled flight at angles of attack of up to 35 degrees.

The aircraft has a retractable tricycle landing gear with low-pressure pneumatics.

The Yak-130 is equipped with two AI-222-25 turbofan engines, each with a take-off thrust of 2,500 kgf. The thrust-to-weight ratio provided for high sustained load factor, rate-of-climb, and take-off performance. The protective flaps of the air inlets, which close when moving on the ground, prevent foreign objects from entering the engines during takeoff and landing. The auxiliary engine system TA-14-130 with an alternating current generator provides for independent aircraft operation at remote airfields and can be used in flight.

The cockpit instrumentation includes three 6” x 8” liquid crystal multifunctional displays in each cockpit. The first cockpit is additionally equipped with a HUD and a helmet-mounted sighting system. A fully electric digital integrated control system (ICU) performs the functions of an automatic control system and an active flight safety system. The ICU has a reprogramming mode allowing changing the aircraft’s stability and controllability parameters. The integrated digital avionics has an open architecture and allows you to expand the range of tasks by installing new components.

Each cockpit is equipped with ejection seats of 0-0 class with through-the-canopy ejection, which ensures safe evacuation from the aircraft in emergency in the entire range of altitudes and flight speeds.