Breaking news ... first Yak-130s delivered to Iran
Late August 2023, the first two Yak-130s for the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) have been delivered to Iran.
The two aircraft, IRIAF serials 7-9700 and 7-9701, were delivered by a Russian Federation - Aerospace Forces (RF VKS) An-124 of the 224th Flight Detachment to Esfahãn/Shahid Beheshti International Airport. The Yak-130s were marked 101 respectively 102 on the vertical stabilizer, which might be part of the construction number.
At this moment, six Iranian instructor pilots are being trained in Russia. The newly delivered aircraft were test flown by Russian pilots.
Back in 2021, Iran requested for 24 Yak-130 two-seat advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft. These numbers might have probably changed.
Credit: Babak Taghvaee / photo credit: IRIAF