OREANDA-NEWS. December 8, 2011. Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and President of IRKUT Corporation Alexey Fedorov have signed the contract on Yak-130 aircraft delivery.

Under the contract, IRKUT Corporation will supply 55 Yak-130 to the Russian Air Force by 2015.

The state arms program 2011-2020 envisages the purchase 65 Yak-130 combat trainers.

“As part of efforts to form a new image of the Russian Armed Forces, the Defence Ministry pays primary attention to equipping the Armed Forces with state-of-the-art hardware and to enhancing its combat capability. The new Yak-130 aircraft will help to improve pilots’ skills and to train them to fly new-generation combat aircraft to be mass purchased by the Defence Ministry” - the Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said.

President of JSC IRKUT Corporation Alexey Fedorov noted that the signing of the contract for Yak-130 – the most important event for the company. “I am confident that we can ensure timely delivery and high quality of aircraft produced for the Russian Armed Forces” – he said.

Yak-130 Combat Trainer, developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau – an IRKUT Corporation company, was chosen as the main aircraft for basic and advanced training of Russian Air Force pilots. Yak-130 can provide top-class pilots training to handle Russian and foreign-made combat aircraft of the generations “4+” and “5”. Yak-130 aircraft is the basic component of the training complex including integrated system of the objective control, educational computer classes, flight and specialized training apparatus. State trials of Yak-130 with weaponry included have been successfully completed in December 2009.

Serial production of Yak-130 combat trainer on the Irkutsk aviation plant is conducted with complex use of modern digital technologies.