Combat trainer with a punch !

Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut has commenced deliveries of Yak130 combat jet trainers to the Bangladesh Air Force, the first batch of six aircraft delivered to Dhaka aboard an Antonov An-124 transport. The 16-aircraft contract with Bangladesh was signed in 2013, with a $1 billion credit line provided by Moscow for acquisition of military hardware.

Bangladesh is the third foreign customer for the Yak-130, the first being Algeria, which received its first batch of trainers in 2011. Algerian media reports state that the Algerian Air Force is using Yak-130s both as trainers and as light attack aircraft in warfare against terrorists, essentially as jet-powered counterinsurgency (COIN) platforms. The Yak-130’s armament allow ground targets to be engaged with both guided and unguided weapons and for engaging airborne targets, the aircraft is armed with Vympel R-73E infrared- homing close combat missiles. The Yak-130’s maximum payload is three tonnes, giving it significant striking power in low intensity conflicts.

The Republic of Belarus, the second export customer for the Yak-130, received four aircraft in April 2015 ( see Vayu IV/2015). At the MAKS 2015 air show in August, Belarus signed a contract with Irkut for a second batch of four Yak-130s, Major General Oleg Dvigalev, Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence of Belarus, stating that there were plans to acquire eight additional Yak-130s, and that Belarus may replace its Su- 25 ground attack aircraft with Yakovlev strike aircraft, presumably the strike-modified variant of the Yak-130 that was displayed during MAKS 2015 ( see Vayu V/2015 and below).