November 23 at the airfield in Lida (Grodno region) took place the solemn events dedicated to the awarding of the personnel of the 116th assault airbase four new Russian combat training aircraft Yak-130, reported naviny.by.

Oleg Dvigalev, Chief of the Air Force and Air Defense Command of the Belarusian army, presented the logbooks for the aircraft to the air base technicians. The officer remarked that the acquisition of another four Yak-130 aircraft will allow Belarusian pilots and cadets to further improve their skills of flying 4++ generation aircraft. It was the second batch of the Yak-130 aircraft transferred to the Belarusian army. The first batch of four Yak-130 aircraft was handed over in 2015. In addition to making piloting training plans the aircraft will allow practicing combat operations.

Yak-130 is classified as a light attack aircraft. This is why plans have been made to use these aircraft as part of the exercises that will be held in 2016-2017 and will involve other units of the Belarusian army. The aircraft are supposed to provide aerial support to troops on the ground, for instance, by helping to block illegally armed groups.

According to Belarus Air Force and Air Defense Forces commander major general Oleg Dvigalev, the country has signed two contracts to acquire Russian Yakolev Yak-130 Mitten trainer / strike aircraft, the BelTA news agency reported.

The new Yak-130s are expected to replace the entire Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatross in Belorussian service by 2020.

Around 12 L-39ZA aircraft are operated by the Belarusian Air Force’s 1/12 Training Squadron for different stages of pilot training.