DTN News - BANGLADESH DEFENSE NEWS: Bangladesh Buys Russian Combat Training Jets Worth $800 Million
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Ria Novosti(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 29, 2014: Bangladesh ordered 24 Russian Yak-130 light fighter jets worth $800 million in the final quarter of last year, a Russian newspaper reported Tuesday.
The deal was paid for with a loan extended by Moscow to the country a year ago, the director of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said in a separate interview published by Kommersant on Monday, without disclosing the deal’s price tag.
The newspaper said Tuesday that the sale was worth $800 million, citing unnamed sources in the defense industry. The planes are to be fitted with English-language cockpits and delivery is scheduled to begin next year.
The Yak-130 is a lightweight subsonic trainer aircraft designed to mimic the cockpit and handling capabilities of Russia’s more advanced fighters.
The plane can also be configured to carry a small payload of ground attack and air-to-air weapons.
Russia has targeted South Asia as a growth market for arms exports. The country delivered a refitted aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, to India earlier this month and is in the process of supplying Vietnam with six advanced attack submarines.
Yak-130 Combat Trainer Preface
The Yak-130 combat trainer was selected as the winner of the trainer competition of the Voyenno Vozdushnyye Sily, Russian Federation Air Force, in April 2002. The aircraft is also actively marketed for export by Yakovlev, the Irkut company, and by Rosoboronexport.
The Russian Air Force has a future requirement for 300 Yak-130 aircraft that can be deployed as a light strike aircraft or as a trainer for a range of fourth or fifth-generation fighters. An order was placed for the first 12 aircraft to replace ageing Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros in 2002. The aircraft entered service in the Russian Federation Air Force at the military pilot training academy in Krasnodar in July 2009 and was showcased in the MAKS 2009 air show.
The production line for the aircraft at the Aviation Plant Sokol in Nizhny Novgorod, known as NAZ Sokol, is fully operational and the roll out of the first production series aircraft took place in May 2003. A series of flight tests of the serial production aircraft was started in April 2004.
The Russian Air Force ordered official testing in May 2005. The full trials of the advanced combat trainer, including spin and combat tactics trials, were completed in December 2009 prior to delivery of the first two production aircraft to the Russian Air Force.
The first Yak-130 ordered by the Russian Air Force completed its flight acceptance test at Sokol in August 2009. The Russian Air Force received the first four of 12 Yak-130s between February 2010 and April 2010. Another five aircraft were delivered in April 2011.
In December 2011, the Russian Ministry of Defence placed an order with Irkut for the delivery of 55 Yak-130 combat trainers by 2015. The first batch of six aircraft was delivered to the Russian Air Force in October 2012. The second batch of three Yak-130s was delivered in November 2012. A total of 15 aircraft were delivered to the Russian Air Force in 2012.
International orders and deliveries
In March 2006, it was announced that Algeria had placed an order for 16 Yak-130 trainers. The first flight of the Yak-130 built for Algerian Air Force was completed in September 2009. In September 2011, the Algerian pilots were permitted to take solo flights on the aircraft after completion of three months theoretical and practical trainings. Deliveries were concluded in 2011.
In January 2010, the Libyan Air Force ordered six Yak-130 aircraft. The Vietnamese Air Force has ordered eight Yak-130 aircraft.
In December 2010, the Kazakh Defence Minister signed an agreement with his Russian counterpart to use the Yak-130. Syria and Indonesia have also shown interest in Yak-130 combat trainers.
In December 2012, the Belarusian Defence Ministry signed a contract with Irkut for four Yak-130 combat-trainers. Deliveries are scheduled for 2015.
*Related Yak-130 Combat Advanced Trainer / Light Fighter Images
*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Ria Novosti (Link unable due to antivirus factor)
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com
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