russia acquired T-34-85 tanks from Laos in exchange for T-72s and Yak-130s, which have been featured in military parades in Moscow since 2019. Now, there has been a new development in the story: China will train Lao pilots to fly russian-made Yak-130s.
At first glance, this may seem like a rather minor story, but it adds to a growing list of examples illustrating how China is gradually pushing russia out of its former "spheres of influence."
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According to Janes, on September 29, 2026, Laos and China announced the establishment of a joint pilot training center, which will be located at Ban Keun Airport.
It has been officially stated that the facility will be jointly operated by the two countries. In practice, however, Chinese instructors will train Laotian pilots on four russian Yak-130s, as well as on Chinese LE500 aircraft.
From Defense Express we would like to note that Laos currently has no combat aircraft. The four russian-made Yak-130s mentioned above, delivered in 2019, are the most powerful aircraft in the country's Air Force.
If China and Laos have now announced the creation of a joint training center, it is likely that there was no systematic pilot training there prior to this. This, in particular, highlights one of the reasons why russia began to lose ground in the global arms market after 2022: russia offered its products, but not the solutions needed to ensure their systematic and effective use.
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