Belarus To Purchase 8 More Yak-130 Jet Trainers

Belarus plans to purchase eight more Yakovlev (Mitten) Yak-130 jet trainers from Russia, in addition to four planes, which Irkut Corporation agreed to deliver.

"In the near future, the purchase of eight more such planes is planned. As a result, a full squadron of Yak-130 will be created and the training of flight crews will be arranged," Commander of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defence Maj. Gen. Oleg Dvigalev was quoted as saying by the Belarusian Military Newspaper on Friday.

A contract on the delivery of four Russian Yakovlev Yak-130 jet trainers to Belarus was signed on Wednesday at the MAKS-2015 International Aviation and Space Salon.

The Yak-130 is a two-seat jet trainer able to perform attack and reconnaissance duties including in tough weather conditions. The subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer/light attack aircraft or lead-in fighter trainer has been originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi.