The Yakovlev Yak-130 (NATO reporting name: Mitten) is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi as the “Yak/AEM-130”. It has also been marketed as a potential light attack aircraft. Development of the aircraft began in 1991 and the maiden flight was conducted on 25 April 1996. In 2002, it won a Russian government tender for training aircraft and in 2010 the aircraft entered service with the Russian Air Force. As an advanced training aircraft, the Yak-130 is able to replicate the characteristics of several 4+ generation fighters as well as the fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57. It can also perform light-attack and reconnaissance duties, carrying a combat load of 3,000 kg (6,600 lb).
Yakovlev Yak-130 is an advanced pilot training aircraft, able to replicate characteristics of Russian 4th and 5th generation fighters. This is possible through the use of open architecture digital avionics compliant with a 1553 Databus, a full digital glass cockpit, four-channel digital Fly-By-Wire System (FBWS) and Instructor controlled and variable FBWS handling characteristics and embedded simulation. The type also has a Head-up display (HUD) and a Helmet-Mounted-Sighting-System (HMSS), with a double GPS/GLONASS receiver updating an Inertial Reference System (IRS) for highly accurate navigation and precision targeting. The developer estimates that the plane can cover up to 80% of the entire pilot flight training program.
Combat training suite on the Yakovlev Yak-130 includes simulated and real firing systems with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, bomb dropping, gun firing and on-board self-protection systems. In addition to its training role, the aircraft is capable of fulfilling Light Attack and Reconnaissance duties. It can carry a combat load of 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds), consisting of various guided and un-guided weapons, auxiliary fuel tanks and electronic pods. During a testing phase that ended in December 2009, the plane was tested with “all airborne weapons with a weight of up to 500 kg that are in service in the Russian Air Force”. Yak-130 has nine hard points: two wingtip, six under-wing and one under-fuselage.
Maximum internal fuel capacity is 1,700 kg (3,700 lb). With two external combat fuel tanks the figure increases to 2,600 kg (5,700 lb). Maximum true airspeed is Mach 0.93 (572 knots), service ceiling is 12,500 metres (41,000 feet) and load factors are from ?3 to +9 g. Typical Take-Off speed and distance in a “clean” configuration are 209 km/h (113 kn) and 550 m (1,800 ft), whilst landing figures are 191 km/h (103 kn) and 750 m (2,460 ft), respectively. Cross wind limit is 56 km/h (30 kn). The aircraft’s twin engines are mounted under extended wing roots, which reach as far forward as the windscreen. Two Ivchenko Progress AI-222-25 Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) produce a combined total of 49 kilonewtons (11,000 pound-force) of thrust.
