From the cockpit: Belarusian Mig-29 and Yak-130 jets night highway operations

Really cool footage showing Mig-29s and Yak-130s during night and day highway operations. With particularly impressive release of flares in the darkness.

Earlier this year Belarusian Air Force pilots conducted, for the very first time, highway operations in the twilight and, later, at night.

Fulcrums and Mittens along with Su-25 Frogfoots can be seen in the footage below performing daylight and after-dark takeoffs and landings from a runway obtained from a portion of a public road.

Interestingly, the training event also included some pyrotechnics: flare release at night.

The Belarusian Air Force operates a dozen MiG-29 Fulcrums upgraded to the BM standard (Belarusian Modernized): these aircraft received capability to use modern weaponry, such as R-77 air-to-air missiles, Kh-29, Kh-25 air-to-ground missiles and Kh-31 anti-ship weapon. Laser guided bomb capability was also added with the use of a targeting pod.

In 2015, the Belarusian Air Force received the first of four Yak-130 advanced trainer/light attack aircraft.

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.