MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The preliminary conclusion on the new Yak-130 combat trainer will be obtained in summer this year, which will make it possible to switch over to mass production of the aircraft, Army General Vladimir Mikhailov, Russian Air Force commander-in-chief, said on Tuesday.
"Two Yak-130s are taking tests at the moment, and several dozens of flights have been made. We will obtain the preliminary conclusion in the summer, and it will allow us to switch over to mass production of the aircraft," Mikhailov told a meeting with foreign military attaches in Moscow.
The Nizhny Novgorod and Irkutsk aircraft production associations are getting ready for mass production of the plane, he said.
The Yak-130 is a new-generation combat trainer developed by the Yakovlev design bureau. It is one of the most promising Russian aircraft projects as far as supplies to both the Russian Air Force and foreign customers are concerned. The first customers of the Yak-130 are the Russian Air Force (12 items) and Algerian Air Force (16 items).
The Yak-130 is equipped with a reprogrammed four-channel remote control system, which allows it to be used for basic and advanced flight training for all existing and future fighters. The Yak-130, fitted with nine pylons, can also be employed as a light combat aircraft. It can carry up to three tonnes of cargo.
The Yak-130 is considerably superior to its rivals as far as its flight characteristics and cost-efficiency ratio are concerned.
Joint state tests of the Yak-130 are expected to be completed in late 2007.