Pakistan could become the fourth country to operate the Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft as Islamabad has expressed an interest in the aircraft, an online news outlet reported on Tuesday.
The new outlet claimed that the parties had already held preliminary talks. Quoting industry sources, the news outlet claimed that Pakistan Air Force officials had been talking to executives from Rosoboronexport and Irkut.
According to the report, the Pakistani side has evaluated the flight performance of the Yak-130 and noted its “unique feature of mimicking the flying characteristics of a number of fighter aircraft such as the F-16 and JF-17, which would make the task of transitioning from a trainer to a fighter a lot easy for pilots.”
The Yak-130 is designed for training flying school cadets in piloting skills and combat engagements against ground and air targets specific to fourth and fifth-generation aircraft.
For a training flight, the aircraft can be programmed to suit different weather conditions and take into account the specific type of aircraft for which the pilot is trained – from the Russian Su-30 to the US F-35 and the French Rafale.
Pakistan’s acquisition of the Yak-130 would be the second purchase the country has made of Russian aircraft. In 2014, Russia lifted its arms embargo against Pakistan and a contract for the supply of four Mi-35M transport and attack helicopters was concluded.
