Yak-130 trraining/combat plane on display for first time at Paris Air Show

This year's Paris Air Show in Le Bourget features the first ever demonstration of the production model of the Yak-130 training/combat plane. The Yak-130, which is built by the Sokol aircraft factory in Nizhny Novgorod, has previously only been displayed as a demonstration model.

Yuri Sentyurin, deputy governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, said that the Yak-130's participation in the air show was 'an interesting and important project.' He added that 'firstly, the Yak-130 is a new plane rather than an updated piece of long-serving equipment; secondly, as a training and combat plane it occupies an entirely new niche; thirdly, a range of modified military equipment will be developed from this plane: light attack planes, fighters, reconnaissance aircraft.'

The plane's participation in the air show was made possible by the fact that it was built without state investment. The organisers of the Russian section of the air show decided not to include Su and MiG aircraft because they were concerned that the planes would be impounded. Two years ago Swiss firm Noga attempted to have Russian fighters impounded due to a legal dispute with the Russian government.