[8][9] The aircraft made its first flight on 25 April 1996 from Zhukovsky Airport at the hands of Yakovlev chief test pilot Andrey Sinitsyn.

[4] Yakovlev would be able to sell the aircraft to countries such those in the Commonwealth of Independent States, India, Slovakia and Algeria.

[12] On 10 April 2002, it was announced that Yak-130 had been chosen as the winner of the tender for trainer aircraft for basic and advanced pilot training, beating the MiG-AT.

Dubbed Yak-131, the aircraft failed to meet critical pilot safety requirements put forward by the Russian Air Force.

The type also has a Head-up display (HUD) and a Helmet-Mounted-Sighting-System (HMSS), with a double GPS/GLONASS receiver updating an Inertial Reference System (IRS) for highly accurate navigation and precision targeting.

[17] In addition to its training role, the aircraft is capable of fulfilling light attack and reconnaissance duties.

[15] It can carry a combat load of 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds), consisting of various guided and un-guided weapons, auxiliary fuel tanks and electronic pods.

[16] The aircraft's twin engines are mounted under extended wing roots, which reach as far forward as the cockpit canopy.

Two Ivchenko Progress AI-222-25 Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) produce a combined total of 49 kilonewtons (11,000 pound-force) of thrust.

[19] Its Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin, announced on 8 November 2011 that the Russian Defence Ministry was to sign a contract within two weeks with Irkut Corporation for 65 additional aircraft[20] – 55 firm orders plus 10 options.

[1] Once the 2005 contract for 12 Sokol plant-made Yak-130s for the Russian Defence Ministry was fulfilled in June 2011, a decision was made that all subsequent Yak-130 orders, both domestic and export ones, would be handled by the Irkutsk Aviation Plant of the Irkut Corporation.

[22] In February 2014 Irkut Corporation revealed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) to supply additional Yakovlev Yak-130 advanced jet trainers to the air force.

According to Irkut president Oleg Demchenko, the company in December signed a contract with the Defense Ministry on the delivery of 12 Yak-130s to form a new aerobatics team.

[31] In April 2012, Irkut Corporation president Alexey Fedorov claimed that there were "more than ten potential customers".

No firm orders came out of it, but the Yak-130 may be bought to replace Kazakhstan's current Aero L-39C trainers, when they will run out of service life.

[5] In November 2012, Sergey Kornev, a representative of Rosoboronexport (Russia's state intermediary agency for exports/imports of defense-related products), said Malaysia and several other countries were also interested in the Yak-130.

[35] The Uruguayan Air Force is considering the aircraft for the future replacement of the A-37[36] with presumably used examples of the F-5 Freedom Fighter as another possible candidate.

Deliveries were expected in 2011–2012,[15] but the Libyan National Transitional Council cancelled the order for Yak-130s in September 2011 as part of a review of all existing arms contracts.

[5] On 30 April 2004, the first pre-series Yak-130, assembled at the Sokol plant in Nizhny Novgorod, performed its maiden flight.

[44][45] Algeria Bangladesh Belarus Iran Laos Myanmar Russia Vietnam Data from YAK-130[86]General characteristics Performance Armament