Russia Conducts First Flight of Yak-130M Combat Training Jet

The first flight of the Yak-130M experimental aircraft took place at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a branch of PJSC Yakovlev (part of the UAC of the Rostec State Corporation).

This was announced on their Telegram page.

The aircraft of the United Aircraft Corporation spent about 50 minutes in the sky at an altitude of up to 2,000 meters and at a speed of up to 600 km/h.

Yak-130M

The Yak-130M is a modernized version of the Yak-130 with enhanced combat capabilities. It was stated that the aircraft’s tasks include destroying ground and air targets, including heavy-class drones.

One of the most notable improvements over the basic Yak-130 is the introduction of a phased-array radar (PHAR) and the automatic electronic scanning BRLS-130R, which significantly expand the aircraft’s capabilities for detecting and tracking air and surface targets, conducting combat operations in the air, and employing modern high-precision weapons.

This innovation allows pilots to train using radar systems and also significantly increases the aircraft’s effectiveness in combat conditions.

The Yak-130M is also equipped with an advanced SOLT-130K electro-optical guidance system installed in the nose, which provides infrared search, target recognition and tracking, laser targeting, and precise targeting. This should allow the aircraft to use guided munitions more effectively against ground targets and to increase situational awareness during both training and combat missions.

The first two prototypes were presented last year, on October 10 and October 23, 2025, respectively.

In November 2025, the UAC and Rosoboronexport presented a prototype of the Yak-130M aircraft at the Dubai Airshow 2025.

Vasily Prutkovsky, Director of PJSC Yakovlev, announced plans to prepare three Yak-130M combat training aircraft for flights by the end of 2026. Prutkovsky also announced the extension of the Yak-130M test program until 2028.

The Yak-130 was developed in the 1990s to replace the outdated Czechoslovak L-39 as the main training aircraft and was optimized to train pilots to operate fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets, in particular the Su-30SM and Su-57.

The prototype was developed jointly with the Italian company Aermacchi, but due to differences of opinion on the future aircraft, the two companies developed the project separately, with the Russian Federation developing the Yak-130 and Italy developing the Aermacchi M-346.

In 2024, the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant delivered a new batch of Yak-130s for training.