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The Yakovlev Yak-130 is a Russian subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light fighter.
Yakovlev Yak-130 Advanced Jet Trainer And Light Fighter (Infographics)
0 $
2,500 $
5,000 $
NOVEMBER 2024
Looks pretty neat for some limited actions in Syria by SAA. Would like to see pounding some Khabani rat holes.
best buy for SAF would be Su-30 and/or Mig-35 + some Su-25
I think SU-25 is probably the best value for money. And not over-hyped like the a-10
“Syria has agreed to purchase 36 aircraft, but delivery of these has been postponed by Russia due to the conflict in Syria” 9 hard points able to carry 3000 kg, not bad for this small bird.
For an inexpensive trainer the YAK-130 has a very punchy payload and packs over half the payload of the Americunt expensive and over-rated F-16 that has been downed with Soviet era SA-2/5 missiles over Syria and Yemen in large numbers. A fully armed and fueled Yak-130 tips the scales at 22,700 pounds.
That’s only a little more than half the weight of a fully-loaded F-16, the primary multi-role fighter of the U.S. Air Force and many of its regional puppets in the Middle East and NATO colonies.
Inexpensive?!
It is all relative. At around $40 million a pop, the YAK-130 is a good deal as properly maintained trainers with a pretty decent COIN/ground attack configuration last over 40-50 years. I did my basic GD cadet-ship on a T-37 Tweet and they are over 60 years old and still flying, if the airframes, engines and avionics are upgraded. The Soviet era Mig 21 or SU-22 are other classic examples of good wine comes in old bottles. Keep in mind that Russian aircraft are much better now and are world class. The SU-35 for instance has no equal in 4th generation or the SU-57 in the 5th. So I would all in all it may may not sound inexpensive, but considering the new weapons systems, software, electronic countermeasures etc and overall versatility they are a pretty good deal.
You consider the SU-35 a match for a modern F-15? Come on, dude.
And why do you mention the SU-57? It is not in production as far as I know.
Make an ideal export light-attack/trainer for African customers.
Is it really $46m I mean that much?!
Not by global standards for a good durable and world class aircraft that will last 40-50 years in a capable airforce like Iran for instance that has good maintenance facilities and can upgrade any aircraft. Most airforces use 30-50 year old trainers like T-37, Hawk, Italian Aermacchi MB339,, L-39 etc. It all comes down to the quality of your maintenance facilities. Iran has the world’s honors for that achievement as it flies totally embargoed Americunt jets from the 1950’s to 1970’s without any problem, even upgrades them with gusto. Look at the F-14A Persian Cat :)
The YAK-130 is perhaps the best light trainer and COIN aircraft in the world today. It is very agile, rugged and easy to maintain. It can operate from literally any short runway, paved or unpaved. Its unit cost in around $40 million and even lower with support package.For a trainer this aircraft packs a pretty decent firepower and payload.
For ground attack and COIN configuration the Yak-130 has three hard-points under each wing. That means it can carry up to three tons of air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, precision-guided bombs, free-fall bombs, rockets, gun pods and external fuel tanks. Another two stations at the wingtips can carry air-to-air missiles or decoy launchers to spoof enemy heat-seeking missiles. That’s not at all. Under its belly, the plane can carry a hard-hitting 23-millimeter cannon with armor piercing ammo. The newer Russian versions sport a LD-130 laser range finder for pinpoint targeting.
It is a small, easy to operate and maintain, agile, tough subsonic light-weight aircraft with attitude and shows the usual Russian practicality.
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Russia makes the best weapons in the world.
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Following the Russian airforce, the second largest operator of that design is the ….Israeli Air Force When that aircraft first flew in 1996 it was a joint project of Yakovlev and Itali’s Alenia Aermacchi By the year 2000 the partnership was dissolved, and continued on two different paths the Yak-130 and the Alenia-Aermacchi M346 which are almost identical. The M346 is the main trainer of the Israeli Air Force
https://defpost.com/israeli-air-force-upgrades-m-346-lavi-advanced-trainer/