Pilot Training with the Yak-130 and Yak-152 Aircraft Presented at Singapore Airshow 2018

One of highlights of the Singapore Airshow 2018 was Russia’s Irkut Corporation unveiling a new military pilot training concept using the Yak-130 combat trainer and the Yak-152 basic trainer.

A unified approach to the cabin information display and operation of the Yak-152 and Yak-130 aircraft has been implemented. This allows organizing a full cycle of pilot training from the initial training to the use of modern weapons and the development of combat tactics.

Irkut claims that a fully functional instructional and training system using a basic and combat trainer, produced by one manufacturer, is in fact a unique offer in the military aviation training market. It allows not only to raise the quality of training, but also to minimize the costs for the acquisition and operation of aviation equipment.

The Yak-130 is a twin engine combat trainer whose flight characteristics are close to the latest ultra-maneuverable fighters of the Russian Air Force, such as Su-30SM and Su-35. In addition to front-line Russian fighter jets, the reprogrammable digital fly-by-wire system allows change of settings to simulate combat aircraft of various other manufacturers in the world as well.

The Yak-130 can be switched from a combat trainer role to a light fighter by adding an arsenal of weapons with a total mass of up to 3000 kilograms. It includes R-73E short-range missiles, controlled air bombs with the KAB-500Kr guidance system and a wide range of unguided aircraft weapons. The combat-ready Yak-130 works out to be much cheaper to operate than a typical fighter jet.

From the initial stage of the Yak-130 development, this aircraft was considered as a component of a comprehensive training system. It includes an integrated system of objective control, training-on-computers, flight and specialized simulators. The system acquired its final shape with the inclusion of the Yak-152 basic training aircraft.

Irkut Corporation has worked on increasing the combat performances of the aircraft. At the MAKS-2017 airshow in Moscow a modernized version of the Yak-130 was demonstration which included a laser range finder and the "Talisman-NT", an on-board defensive system designed to significantly improve the survival rate of the Yak-130 when carrying out strike missions.

The Russian Air Force operates more than 80 Yak-130 aircraft and recently, Mayanmar has taken delivery of six aircraft. The total number of countries having the Yak-130 in their air force is five; besides Russia and Myanmar, it is also in service with Algeria, Belarus and Bangladesh.

The Yak-152, which is passing flight tests now, allows day and night flight, in simple and complex meteorological conditions, performs aerobatics and fly- by- instruments.

A unique feature of the Yak-152 is its ultra-light catapult system, which implements a fundamentally new method of emergency escape.

Features such as “tandem" scheme, retractable landing gear, advanced mechanization of the wing, from the very beginning of training they allow to form the cadet skills necessary for the pilot of a modern aircraft.