Belarusian Ministry of Defense and Irkut Corporation (Russia) started implementation of a contract for delivery of four Yak-130 operational trainers, TASS reports with reference to the Minister of Defense of Belarus, Andrei Ravkov.

“We started implementation of the contract for delivery of four Yak-130 operational trainers. The deliveries will be completed in 2015,” he noted.

The contract between Irkut Corporation and Belarusian Ministry of Defense for delivery of four Yak-130 jets was signed in December 2012 “in the network of implementation of an agreement between Russia and Belarus aimed at development of military-technical cooperation between the countries”.

Yak-130 is the two-seat next-generation operational trainer designed for training of military pilots. It is the only operational trainer in the world to feature an aerodynamic configuration and aircraft performance similar to advanced fighters at subsonic speeds. The aircraft is fitted with state-of-the-art avionics suite; the jet offers high reliability and long service life. It is capable of carrying a payload of 3 tons.

Belarus was the first member of CIS Region to purchase Yak-130 jets.