Irkut Signs Contract with Belarus To Sell 4 Yak-130 Jet Trainers

Russia’s Irkut Corp signed a contract with Belarus to sell four Russian Yakovlev Yak-130 jet trainers at the MAKS-2015 air show near Moscow.

"We hope to one day sign a contract for larger aircraft," Oleg Demchenko, president of Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut Corporation, told reporters at the signing ceremony.

The contract marks the first foreign sale of the Yak-130 trainer, an aircraft which can mimic the flying characteristics of several international fighter aircraft such as the MiG-29, The Su-30, F-16 and F/A-18.

The aircraft can also be equipped with weapons and deployed as a light combat aircraft.

In April 2015 Irkut Corporation delivered to the Belarus Republic the first batch of Yak-130. Irkut’s test pilots trained a group of Belarusian pilots-instructors for the Yak-130, as well, an Irkut press release said.

During training the Yak-130 performed highly accurate targets defeat, including the use of guided bombs. Once again Yak-130 confirmed its high trainer and combat efficiency.

Chief of the Air Force and Air Defense of Belarus Republic major general Oleg Dvigalev said: "mastering of Yak-130  by personnel at the Lida air base is scheduled by the end of this year. But it is already clear that this aircraft gives us the opportunity to train flight crews on a new level, as well as to perform combat missions."