Bangladesh Gets Yak-130 Combat Trainer, Agustawestland AW139 Rescue Helicopters

Bangladesh Air Force received Yakovlev Yak-130 multi-role helicopter and Agustawestland AW139 search and rescue helicopter on Sunday.

The Yakovlev Yak-130 is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft or lead-in fighter trainer.

The AW139 is a 15-seat medium sized twin-engine search and rescue helicopter developed by Italy’s AgustaWestland.

Bangladesh had signed a deal with Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport to buy 24 Yak-130 trainers developed by the Irkut Corporation.

The deal was signed in 2013, according to Rosoboronexport head Anatoly Isaikin in an interview with Russia's ‘Kommersant’ newspaper.

Bangladesh also signed a deal to purchase two AW 139 helicopters, which will be used by the BAF to perform maritime search and rescue (SAR) operations and other utility missions, says AgustaWestland's website.