Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Irkutsk Aviation Plant (part of the Yakovlev Aircraft Company within the United Aircraft Corporation) where he inspected a prototype of the upgraded Yak-130M combat trainer aircraft that had performed its debut test flight a month ago. Test Pilot Alexander Guskov told the Russian president that the upgraded aircraft based on the Yak-130 combat trainer was outfitted with advanced onboard systems, a modern radar and a weapons suite that included air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. The upgraded combat trainer is actually a full-fledged light fighter aircraft that considerably outperforms its predecessor, he said. The new Yak-130M combat trainer can accelerate to 960 km/h and has an operational range of 1,610 km. As reported earlier, the upgraded Yak-130M performed its debut test flight at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant on June 25, 2026.