Moscow: Russia's Air Force will have over 50 new Yak-130 training fighter planes under the state programme to 2020, the Air Force's spokesman Colonel Vladimir Drik said.
"In late 2011, Russia's Defence Ministry signed a contract on purchase from the United Aircraft Corporation of 55 training fighter planes," he said. "It will continue the large-scale programme to replace the training aviation fleet of L-39, produced in the Czech Republic, by Russian-made Yak-130 training fighter planes."
Vladimir Drik said that Yak-130 is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer, light attack aircraft or lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) developed by the Yakovlev design bureau.
Yak-130 is able to replicate the characteristics of several 4 and 5th generation fighters. Combat training suite on the Yak-130 includes simulated and real firing systems with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, bomb dropping, gun firing and on-board self-protection systems. The instructor can set and control "target behaviour" from his seat in the aircraft. It has an automated on-board diagnostics and control system which makes the aircraft easy to operate and maintain.
It has an improved airframe with a design lifetime of 10,000 flight hours and 20,000 flight cycles during a calendar lifetime of 30 years and can operate from unpaved airfields.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 12, 2012, 15:09