High hopes for Yak-130 combat plane

Russian TV shows the new combat version of the Yak-130 trainer aircraft

Russian aircraft designers have turned the Yak-130, traditionally used for training purposes, into a combat plane.

Russian TV has shown pictures of the Yakovlev-type plane in flight, performing agile manoeuvres such as a barrel roll and a rolling loop.

The aircraft, which was developed 10 years ago at the request of the Russian air force for flight crew training, is unexpectedly at the centre of attention throughout Europe, the TV report said.

YAK-130 planes are small and agile

The Yas-130 has been upgraded in time to be a star attraction at the Maks-2001 international air show to be held in the Moscow region in August, it said.

According to the Yakovlev Design Bureau, the plane was originally adapted for the international market on a minimum budget but earned enough to pay for the development of the Russian version of the aircraft.

Today there are two variants - the European and the Russian - each with different engines and completely different onboard equipment and technical features, the TV said.

Both are currently being tested. And both want to be in the lead in the sphere of training aircraft. But experts believe the Russian plane has already leapt ahead of its European twin in many parameters, it said.

Unique features

Perfect aerodynamic configuration

Nikolai Dolzhenkov, designer

The Yakovlev team's chief designer, Konstantin Popovich, told a news conference on 8 August that the plane's transformation into a combat craft started three years ago when they became aware of the need for such planes in local conflicts, such as those in Chechnya and Yugoslavia, Interfax news agency said.

The distinctive Yak logo

Experts believe that such planes will be much more effective and economical than heavy fighter planes such as those made by MiG or Sukhoi, Interfax said.

Nikolai Dolzhenkov, technical director of the design team, told Military Parade magazine the Yak-130 has a "perfect aerodynamic configuration".

The planes special features include a wing design which gives it "an ability of controllable flight at an angle of 42 degrees, a unique feature of this class of aircraft", Mr Dolzhenkov said.

The first prototype was rolled out on 29 May 1995. Its basic design can be used to develop a whole range of versions, primarily combat aircraft.

Air show

The plane will debut at Moscow's international air show

The plane will be shown in its combat capacity for the first time at the fifth Maks air show, which will be held in Zhukovsky from 14-19 August. Around 130 aircraft will be on display.

Leading aerospace countries such as the United States, France, Britain, Japan, China and India will be taking part. A record 526 companies will have stands, including American Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.

The designers say the Yak-130 combat plane will not be on sale until the end of 2004 at the earliest, according to the TV.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.