Russia’s tenacious trainer

Alexander Mladenov reviews the current state of the Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten jet trainer as it becomes established in Russian service and gathers momentum on the export stage. Yak-130 The Yak-130 advanced jet trainer was formally taken on strength by the Russian military in 2010. However, it wasn’t until 2013 that student pilot training started on the type. This relatively advanced and highly agile combat trainer is employed by the Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily Rossiyskoy Federatsii (VKS RF, Russian Federation Air and Space