It is the newest subsonic two-seat combat-capable trainer aircraft equally suitable for training military pilots and for combat. It can defeat air and ground targets even in difficult weather conditions. It was designed and manufactured by the Irkut Corporation. Myanmar is one of the countries that have expressed an interest in buying the aircraft.
The aircraft procurement agreement with Myanmar for more than 10 Yak-130s for over $150 million was signed in the summer of 2015.
On April 26, 2016, the media reported that the Russian companies Rosoboronexport and Irkut would supply Myanmar with the first three aircraft of this lot before the end of the year. Apart from the combat aircraft itself, Myanmar will get a specialized simulator to train pilots for combat in the Yak-130. It will be installed by Russian experts before the end of 2017.
Until recently, Myanmar had only bought this kind of technology in China. It should be noted, however, that in recent years the PRC has joined the ranks of the world leaders in product quality. So, Myanmar’s decision to buy Russian aircraft proves their exceptional performance, exceeding those of the Chinese equivalent: the L-15.
It should be noted that the case of Myanmar is not just a coincidence, but a trend. Previously, the Russian Yak-130 already won the Bangladesh market in the competition with the L-15. In 2013, Bangladesh signed an agreement with Russia on the procurement of 16 aircraft. Furthermore in recent years, several countries in North Africa and South America have expressed interest in purchasing the Yak-130. Thus, the sale of these planes may go on to be an important part of Russia’s high-tech exports.
However, the meaning of this may be much more important. As is well known, military technical cooperation is only possible if there is deep political understanding between the two countries. Whatever the performance characteristics of combat aircraft may be, no one would sell or buy them from a potential adversary. This is due to the fact that after the purchase of foreign military equipment there should always be an exchange of military personnel in order to train to use the equipment, as well as other aspects of military cooperation. Thus, Myanmar’s purchase of the Russian Yak-130 may be a sign of the development of serious strategic cooperation between the two countries.
On April 26, 2016, Moscow hosted a meeting of the defence ministers of Russia and ASEAN, during which there was a meeting between the Russian Defence Minister, Sergey Shoigu, and the Head of the Military Department of Myanmar, Soe Win. On May 11, 2016 the Parliament of Myanmar approved an agreement on military cooperation with Russia.
It should be noted that Myanmar is one of the most advanced members of ASEAN in the military sphere. Decades of Civil war and fighting against extremist groups have taught the Government of Myanmar to pay a lot of attention to defence and have turned the Myanmar army into one of the most efficient in the region. However, the country has been facing more and more challenges lately. Ethnic conflicts still break out in the country and there are various active extremist organizations. In Autumn of 2016, there were a number of terrorist attacks in the country. For example, in October 2016, 9 policemen were killed as a result of the terrorist attacks on police stations in Rakhine State in Myanmar. Now, civil unrest has gripped the State, as a result of which thousands of refugees crossed the border with Bangladesh. A series of explosions took place in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar; a number of explosive devices were also found and defused in time. All this is happening simultaneously with the overall spate of extremist and terrorist organisations in Southeast Asia. For example, in November 2016, the media reported on the prevention of terrorist attacks and arrests of people suspected of having links to ISIL (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) in the territory of Indonesia. It is not surprising that the government of Myanmar is interested in cooperating with countries such as Russia that has experience in fighting against international terrorism.
It is well known that Myanmar is of particular importance in the Asia-Pacific Region. It occupies an important strategic position between the two competing giants: India and China, and has an outlet to the Indian Ocean. Myanmar is particularly important to China, because energy delivered to China by tankers from the Middle East partly goes through its territory. This reduces the risk for China associated with the delivery of hydrocarbons through the narrow Strait of Malacca, which, in case of conflict, may easily be blocked by a hostile navy. This also attracts the attention of China’s potential adversaries to Myanmar, lending the country particular importance in the current confrontation between China, India, Japan and the US for the dominant role in the Asia-Pacific Region. Destabilization of the situation in Myanmar may unpredictably affect the entire Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, military cooperation between Myanmar and Russia will assist in strengthening security in the region.
Dmitry Bokarev, political observer, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
