Indian Air Force to Test Yak-130 Fighter-Trainers in Russia - Large Acquisition Expected

India’s armed forces have shown considerable interest in acquiring the Russian Yak-130 combat trainer - an advanced twin seat single engine platform which entered service in 2010. The Indian Air Force has reportedly faced a severe shortage in trainer jets in recent years and a very high accident rate, which has forced the service to seek a new platform urgently. The Yak-130 is one of the most advanced combat trainers in service today, and the Indian Air Force is set to evaluate its performance in Russia before deciding on a potentially large acquisition. Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, paying a three day visit to Russia on July 9th, will fly the aircraft personally for this purpose.

The Yak-130 may well be ideally suited to India’s defence needs, and was designed specifically to train pilots to operate advanced Russian fighter jets such as the Su-30 - which currently forms the mainstay of the Indian fleet, as well as the MiG-35 and Su-57 which are likely to be acquired in the 2020s. The platform has been widely exported as a trainer for modern Russian fighter jets, but will also field advanced combat capabilities of its own as a lightweight attack jet. The Yak-130 boasts a full glass cockpit, a four channel digital fly by wire system, a heads up display and a helmet mounted sighting system, and can carry a payload of up to 3000kg including guided munitions. It can also deploy specialised electronic warfare pods. Considering the size of the deficiency in the India fleet, it is very possible that India could become the largest operator of the class after Russia itself - with the Russian Air Force set to field around 200 of the aircraft. Syria is currently set to be the largest foreign operator with 36 jets on order.

India's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence stated regarding the need for a new combat trainer that the low availability of these aircraft, and the failure of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to deliver indigenous platforms capable of fulfilling this role, forced the Air Force to modify its training program from a ‘three level approach' to just two levels. The Air Force reportedly intended to have a fleet of 432 advanced trainers in service by 2019, but currently fields only 310. This was referred to as "indicative of an unfavourable state of affairs,” and the issue of a lack of trainers was linked to the high accident rate in the Indian fleet. India’s armed forces have los 44 aircraft in crashes since 2014-15 including 26 fighter jets - with 46 personnel killed. It is hoped that with better training, the crash rate can be reduced significantly.