Click to see full-size image. (Rostec)
Russian test pilots performed the first flight aboard the fully-modernized Yak-130M combat trainer jet at a speed of up to 600 kilometers per hour, the state technology corporation Rostec announced on June 25.
“The debut flight of the Yak-130M aircraft prototype took place at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a subsidiary of the Yakovlev Aircraft Enterprise (part of the United Aircraft Corporation within the state corporation Rostec). The aircraft was piloted by the crew of 1st Class Test Pilot Alexander Guskov and Distinguished Test Pilot Andrey Voropayev,” the Rostec press office said in a statement.
The flight lasted about 50 minutes at altitudes of up to 2,000 meters and at speeds of up to 600 kilometers per hour, it said.
“The flight plan was implemented in full and there are no issues with the aircraft,” the press office reported.
The upgraded Yak-130M is equipped with the BRLS-130R active electronically scanned array radar with a range of 100 kilometers, in addition to the SOLT-130K electro-optical targeting system with a laser designator, the President-S130 self-protection suite, and the new KSS-130 communications link.
Rostec also said in its latest statement that the jet got a new weapons suite, including air-to-air and air-to-surface aircraft-launched weapons.
One of these weapons is rumored to be the R-77-1 active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, which has a range of up to 100 kilometers.
Another rumored weapon is the LMUR optically-guided air-to-surface missile, which can hit targets, static or moving, with a range of more than 15 kilometers.
“Externally, it’s the familiar Yak-130, but in terms of its characteristics, it’s a completely new aircraft that takes into account the requirements of today, real combat experience, and the prospects for the development of combat aviation. It has advanced onboard systems, a modern radar, and a serious weapons complex, including air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. Now it’s a ‘two-in-one’: not just a combat training aircraft, but actually a full-fledged light fighter, significantly surpassing the capabilities of its predecessor,” noted Rostec.
Russian Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Gennady Abramenkov noted that the Yak-130M has “high potential for addressing a broad range of tasks in the customer’s requirements.”
Dozens of Yak-130 trainers have been already exported to eight different countries. The fully-modernized Yak-130M will likely see even more success, as it offers light fighter performance with serious air combat capabilities while maintaining the advanced trainer characteristics.
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