A prototype of the russian-modernized Yak-130M training and combat aircraft made its first flight. The event took place on June 25 at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant (a subsidiary of the JSC Yakovlev Corporation, part of the Rostec State Corporation). This was reported by russian propaganda media.
It is known that the flight lasted about 50 minutes in total and took place at an altitude of up to 2,000 m. During the flight, the aircraft maintained a speed of up to 600 km/h. According to Rostec, "the test flight was completed successfully, with no issues observed with the aircraft."
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The first modernized Yak-130M was unveiled at the Armiya-2024 trade show as a combat aircraft that will also be capable of performing pilot training missions for the russian Aerospace Forces. Meanwhile, the aircraft's first flight was delayed by about a year.
As of April this year, russia had three modernized Yak-130M aircraft at different stages of readiness, and the Yakovlev Corporation stated that all are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
russians are optimistic about the Yak-130M's export potential, suggesting that existing operators of the Yak-130 combat training aircraft may be interested in the upgraded variant, with up to eight countries potentially involved.
However, the most interesting question is what role the Yak-130M will play in the russian military. russians' plans are also ambitious. They have repeatedly emphasized that the Yak-130M could replace the Soviet Su-25 aircraft. Former russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu first mentioned this in 2017, referring to a "suitably modified" Yak-130.
The upgraded Yak-130M is inferior to the Su-25 in range, armor protection, and payload capacity. More notably, russia is also promoting the Yak-130M as a drone-hunting aircraft.
However, these are currently only prototype aircraft. It is not yet known when russia will be ready to field production aircraft, nor what the russian Ministry of Defense's overall plans for them are.
Rostec describes the modernized Yak-130M as a "full-fledged light fighter," emphasizing that its missions will include striking ground and air targets, including heavy drones.
The upgraded Yak-130M is equipped with a BRLS-130R radar and a SOLT-130K optical-electronic station housed in a suspended container.
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