Irkut Rolls Out First Yak-152 Trainer Prototype

Russian jet maker Irkut Corp. on June 7 showed the first Yak-152 light piston engine trainer prototypes being assembled at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant in East Siberia.

The prototype’s first flight is expected to take place this year, according to Sergey Yamalov, the plant’s lean manufacturing director. Three more airframes—one for flight trials and two more for static and endurance tests—can be seen at the assembly line in different states of readiness.

Yakovlev Design Bureau, a part of Irkut Corp., signed a contract with the Russian defense ministry for development of a new aircraft for initial pilot training in 2014. It was based on the basic Yak-54 aerobatic trainer. It features a two-seat cockpit equipped with the SKS-94M catapult system. The Russian M-14X radial engine is now replaced with the more powerful German-made RED A03 diesel aircraft engine. This allows the aircraft to add 550 kg (1,200 lb.) of useful load. According to the designers, it can carry air-to-air missiles or unguided rocket launching pods.

The Yak-152 program seems to be behind schedule. Under the contract, the first prototypes should have been ready by the end of next October, while the completion of flight trials was scheduled for this autumn.

The defense ministry plans to use the Yak-152 for initial pilot training, with further training on Yak-130 advanced jet trainers and Su-30SM two-seat fighters. The latter two types are also manufactured by Irkut. The military plans to buy about 150 Yak-152s, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov says.