A number of Russian defense industry companies are taking part these days in the 15th Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA’2019) in Malaysia.
Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft is one of the exhibits at the LIMA. According to Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Yak-130 aircraft may be purchased by Malaysia. Currently, the aircraft are supplied to Laos, Bangladesh and Myanmar (which received six Yak-130s just a few days ago).
“We expect that participation in this exhibition of the colleagues from the neighboring countries will give a further impetus to the future purchases of these aircraft,” Manturov said.
If required, local production of Yak-130s may be arranged in Malaysia. As Yury Slusar, President and Chairman of the Board of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) noted, “I discussed prospect of industrial cooperation with Mahathir Bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia. In the country, there is a servicing and repair center for the aircraft, and we will also consider an option of having Yak-130s assembled locally”, adding that UAC has plans to set a regional center for support and maintenance of these aircraft in South East Asia.