Last week, it was announced that tests had begun on a new version of one of Russia's most common military aircraft, the Yak–130 combat training aircraft. How will the Yak-130M differ from the basic version and why is this a reflection of a whole trend in modern combat aviation?
The Yak-130 began to be developed at the end of the Soviet era, mainly to replace the Czech combat training aircraft (UBC) L-39. The car was created in cooperation with the Italians (they eventually adopted a twin called the M-346). In addition, a de facto licensed copy of the Yak-130 was created in China under the name Hongdu L-15. In other words, the platform turned out to be successful, and it was appreciated abroad.
Currently, according to open data, several dozen Yak-130s are used by the Krasnodar Higher Military School to train Russian military pilots. In addition, the Yak-130 was also supplied to Iran, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.
And if in Russia the Yak-130 currently performs entirely training tasks, then abroad it is precisely the combat ones. It was reported, for example, that the Myanmar military used the Yak-130 against local militants in 2022.
It has also been said for a long time that the car needs to be updated. Last week, Rostec announced the completion of the construction of the first prototype of the upgraded aircraft, the Yak-130M. And also that the assembly of two similar UBS is already underway. And the most interesting thing is that the modernization primarily affected the combat (rather than training) capabilities of the aircraft.
"The modernization will make it possible to equip the Yak-130M with air–to–air missiles and high–precision air-to-surface aircraft with satellite and laser guidance systems," Rostec said.
Among the important updates is the installation of an on-board radar station radar-130R on the aircraft. This is the latest radar equipped with an AFAR (active phased array) antenna. The radar parameters were not officially reported, but there is no doubt that it allows you to detect enemy aircraft at a greater distance than installed on the Yak-130.
In addition, the SALT-130K optical-laser thermal imaging system will allow the crew to detect and recognize ground (surface) targets and give them target designation for on-board weapons. Modernization, as stated, will lead to the fact that "the new aircraft will not only retain all the capabilities for training combat pilots, but will also acquire the qualities of a combat aircraft."
First of all, of course, for foreign customers. No wonder the Yak-130M was already shown at the Aero India exhibition last winter. "Its potential customers are mainly Asian and African countries that already operate Russian aircraft," Alexander Mikheev, head of Rosoboronexport, said at the time.
But it is possible that the Russian aerospace forces will also be interested in the car in its new capacity. Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General Vladimir Popov believes that the Yak-130M is needed by the army.
"Such aircraft can fight drones, which are the main danger in a modern military conflict, and they are capable of destroying enemy mosquito aircraft.",
– Vladimir Popov explained to the newspaper VZGLYAD. – There are missiles on the Yak-130M – they can shoot down UAVs. Plus, the YAK-130M can throw out adjustable bombs, as well as high–explosive bombs." Earlier, experts have already made similar assumptions about the possibility of creating a mass-scale cheap "UAV fighter" based on the Yak-130 platform. Moreover, Iran has recently tested the Yak-130 delivered to the country to perform precisely such tasks.
The General draws attention to the change in the very nature of military operations. With the mass appearance of cheap UAVs, the role of heavy and expensive aircraft – such as "dryers" and "migs" – is decreasing.
"The ratio of costs and the result obtained on the battlefield is not in favor of expensive aircraft, and war is primarily an economy," Popov explained. Planes like the Yak-130M are simple, cheap, and can be used to learn and fight – it takes time.
"If earlier we saw that airplanes are becoming more complex and more expensive, that the latest fighters cost tens of millions of dollars, now we are facing the opposite trend: light attack aircraft are appearing – simple and relatively inexpensive.",
– says General Popov.
There are indeed examples, although recently customers prefer to buy turboprop machines rather than jet engines. They are even cheaper, including in operation, and they are quite enough to destroy rebel groups or counterinsurgency.
For example, the Brazilian light turboprop attack aircraft EMB-314 Super Tucano is popular on the world market: just earlier this year, the purchase of a batch of these aircraft by the Uruguayan Air Force was announced. By the way, Ukraine is actively using Yak-52 propeller-driven training aircraft armed with machine guns against Russian UAVs. And Russia, in turn, is actively destroying them. Although the idea of producing turboprop fighter drones for the Russian Air Force has not yet been reported.
Nikita Mironov
