Yakovlev Yak-130 (Mitten) Light Strike Aircraft, Russia

Yakovlev Yak-130 (Mitten) Advanced Jet Trainer / Light Strike Aircraft.

Despite entering service with the Russian Air Force in 2009, overall quantitative deliveries of the Yak-130 have been slow.

Advanced jet-powered trainers with secondary strike roles are becoming an ever more growing presence on the modern battlefield due to their initial procurement costs (this usually in some great number), long-term maintenance costs and inherent dual-role functionality. Such aircraft allow a potential operator the ability to train all-new generations of airmen while maintaining a limited attack capability in their fleet of lightweight systems - making them highly appealing to budget-concious interested parties. The Yak-130 (NATO: "Mitten") is Yakovlev's entry into the crowded field, bringing with it a strong company lineage dating back to 1934 and modern-minded modular capabilities that have primarily garnered it the interest of the Russian Air Force to date. Irkut Corporation handles manufacture of the Yak-130 though an export-minded derivative for Western clients is also being developed as the M-346 "Master" under the Alenia Aermacchi brand label of Italy.

One of the key qualities of aircraft systems like the relatively new Yak-130 is the ability to recreate the operating environment and handling of modern fighting jets. For the Russian Air Force, this also includes mimicking the qualities of their upcoming Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA 5th Generation high-performance stealth fighter as well as current 4th Generation mounts already in inventory. The PAK FA stealth fighter is a direct competitor to the American F-22 Raptor and only one of a now-growing number of such aircraft in the world. Similarly, the Chinese are working on their Chengdu J-20 twin engine initiative.