Iran Air Force (IRIAF) | News and Discussions

More Yak-130 pics

Wouldn't be hard for Iran to convert them into light fighters if they wanted to, or to apply the technology to their current domestic light fighter.

Their current light fighter is based on the F-5 and to be honest an F-5 with a 23mm twin barrel cannon would be an impressive little fighter with a modern radar and avionics and their new AAMs.

They could use their F-5 as a basic trainer and use the Yak-130 for advanced training to prepare their pilots for Su-35s and Su-30s and perhaps MiG-35s or Checkmates...

Russia could probably do with a simple cheap light training aircraft too... perhaps they could do a swap.

Yak-130 is not super cheap and is specifically an advanced trainer so having a more basic jet trainer would be interesting.

The Russians are making the engine themselves for the Yak-130 and it has 25% more thrust... perhaps an AB version might be suitable for the Iranian F-5s... that would make them rather spritely...

Perhaps the Su-35s won't be delivered to Iran anytime soon- they may be needed against Ukraine/NATO/Japan, so more Yak-130s will go there instead:
https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2023-09-07/1_1252_iran.html?print=Y

It is possible, but the delivery of Yak-130s would be a necessary step in terms of creating a pool of trained pilots in Iran to operate Su-35s or any other type they might eventually buy.

I rather suspect they would train a few pilots in Russia to fly the Su-35 so when they arrive they are fully combat capable and ready to fight if needed... the local pilots already trained in Russia so they will already be familiar with Iranian airspace and terrain and had been trained to operate the Su-35s in Russia so when they get to Iran they should be fully able to defend themselves and Iran too.

It will be like the US... by the time they say they have sent x super weapon to Kiev they are already on the ground and might have already been used...

Of course they might surprise everyone and buy MiG-35s upgraded for carrier use so they have folding wings to fit into underground hangars...

Who knows... it is going to be fun though.

Iran's Deputy Defense Minister reported that final agreements have been signed on the supply of Su-35 fighter jets and Mi-28 helicopters to Iran.

In an interview with the Tasnim agency, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister General Mehdi Farahi finally announced that agreements have been closed for the purchase of Su-35 fighters, Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 combat training aircraft. that have already begun to arrive. completed for the Iranian Armed Forces in Russia. The process of implementing the agreements is already underway.

Nice to see some respect, Iran has some of the best engineers in the world, and they have worked very hard to get where they are today...

I should point out that my comment about the F-5 as a trainer is a no brainer... the F-5 itself is a combat fighter version of the T38 trainer aircraft, so it actually started out as a trainer aircraft.

Would love to see a version of the F-5 with its 20mm cannon removed and replaced with twin barrel 23mm guns, and upgraded engines... important to keep it affordable though...

It's the su-30 they need to stop building. Its two crew are far more expensive than the single pilot in the su-35.

Yeah, but fits a different niche.

ALAMO wrote:Yeah, but fits a different niche.

There are also some customers like India that absolutely want a two seat plane (i.e. Su-30MKI and their previous planned version of the PAK-FA).

Furthermore for naval patrols Russia apparently wanted a two seat plane as well.

Anyway in previous communications it was written that the yak-130 being sold to Iran would allow the pilots to train for su-35 and Su-57.

Does it mean that a contract for the sale of Su-57 to Iran is being defined as well?

For naval aviation that will execute complicated antishipping missions, having a weapon/systems operator is a clear gain. Especially as we are talking about long distance and duration patrols.