The contract between Belarusian Ministry of Defense and Irkut Corporation (part of United Aircraft Corporation) on delivery of Yak-130 operational trainers was signed on December 18th 2012 in Minsk in the network of implementation of the agreement on development of military-technical cooperation between Russia and Belarus (signed on December 10th 2009 in Minsk). The jets will be delivered to the customer in 2015, press-service of Irkut Corporation reports. AEX.ru

Belarusian Minister of Defense, Y.V. Zhadobin, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Russia in Belarus, A.A. Surikov, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, A.V. Fomin, and President of Irkut Corporation, O.F. Demchenko, have taken part in the signing ceremony.

The two-seat Yak-130 operational trainer is intended for advanced training of fighter pilots. The jet was developed by Yakovlev Design Bureau (part of Irkut Corporation). It is manufactured by Irkutsk aviation plant. Yak-130 is the unique next-generation operational trainer, which enables training of pilots at the most advanced level for Russian and foreign 4+ and 5-generation combat aircraft.

Belarus is the first country of CIS Region to purchase Yak-130 aircraft, the corporation noted.