MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) – Bangladesh ordered 24 Russian Yak-130 light fighter jets worth $800 million in the final quarter of last year, a Russian newspaper reported Tuesday.
The deal was paid for with a loan extended by Moscow to the country a year ago, the director of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said in a separate interview published by Kommersant on Monday, without disclosing the deal’s price tag.
The newspaper said Tuesday that the sale was worth $800 million, citing unnamed sources in the defense industry. The planes are to be fitted with English-language cockpits and delivery is scheduled to begin next year.
The Yak-130 is a lightweight subsonic trainer aircraft designed to mimic the cockpit and handling capabilities of Russia’s more advanced fighters.
![Pilot training aircraft Yak-130 Pilot training aircraft Yak-130 - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17412/81/174128173_0:0:900:1278_600x0_80_0_0_6186696cd1e52776a8a776de79ade4e4.jpg)
The plane can also be configured to carry a small payload of ground attack and air-to-air weapons.
Russia has targeted South Asia as a growth market for arms exports. The country delivered a refitted aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, to India earlier this month and is in the process of supplying Vietnam with six advanced attack submarines.