During its first operational exercise, the Iranian Yak-130 coordinated with two MiG-29s to intercept and destroy a target drone with a R-73E air-to-air missile.
A little over two months after a Russian-made Yak-130 of the IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) was spotted carrying an R-73E SRAAM (Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile), the aircraft made its operational debut in an exercise and fired the missile to shoot down a drone. A video showed the operation, which took place during the ongoing massive Zolfagar/Zulfiqar 1403 exercise, in the southeastern region of the country, on Feb. 24, 2025.
The aircraft shown armed in the video bears the registration 7-9700 with the tail number 101, identifying it as the first delivered to Iran. The Yak-130 that was captured carrying the R-73 for the first time in Dec. 2024 reportedly had the tail number 106, so at least six aircraft (five according to some sources) have already been delivered. Images and videos of the first batch Yak-130s, based at the 8th Fighter Base in Isfahan, emerged in Sep. 2023.
Tehran Times quoted the exercise’s spokesperson Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh, who said that the Yak-130’s “first-ever operational mission” took place while “working alongside two MiG-29 fighter jets to intercept and destroy a target drone.” In reports by Press TV and Mehr News, Brig. Gen. Sheikh explained how the three aircraft worked together to achieve the goal.
YAK-130 trainer jets participated in exercises for the first time
A video of one engaging a target drone with an R-73 AAM, alongside a MiG-29UB & MiG-29A, was released pic.twitter.com/bAwX09jgxI
— Iran Defense|نیروهای مسلح جمهوری اسلامی ایران (@IranDefense) February 24, 2025
“The Yak-130, equipped with advanced missiles, successfully destroyed the drone after it was identified by the MiG-29 pilots,” Sheikh said. He emphasized that this achievement demonstrated “the excellent coordination and cooperation among different aircraft in the Air Force.”
A Yak-130 jet of #Iran‘s Air Force, flew in tandem with two MiG-29 fighter jets, to intercept and shoot down a drone during a #military exercise in southeastern Iran. pic.twitter.com/1uEP42jGAP
— Iran Nuances (@IranNuances) February 24, 2025
Video
The video shows the tandem-seat Yak-130 in different stages of the operation, starting on the ramp where it can be seen an R-73E on the left wing’s outermost hardpoint and two external fuel tanks on the inner pylons. One of the MiG-29s, also carrying an R-73E, can be seen beside the Yak-130.
However, some parts of the footage show the R-73E missile missing, with the Yak-130 on the runway only equipped with fuel tanks, both missile and tanks missing in a cockpit segment of the aircraft during maneuvers, possibly captured during other training events with other aircraft.
During the short segment from inside the cockpit showing the Yak-130 launching the missile, the MiG-29 can also be seen to its left. Another cockpit video framing the starboard side shows the MiG-29s banking right, with the weapon exploding shortly thereafter, presumably after hitting the drone.
‘Iran Defense’ the two as a MiG-29UB and a MiG-29A, although the former can’t be verified as only the single seater jet was clearly shown. The model of the drone is also unclear, whether it was a quadcopter, a pusher-propeller UAV or a pilotless target aircraft.
As for the Yak-130 with the missing missile, it is unclear if it is the same airframe after having expended the missile. According to some sources, another Yak-130 with tail number 105 might have been involved.
Leading Middle East and Mediterranean defense journalist Babak Taghvee also shared a video of two MiG-29s from the 11th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed to the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron base in Chabahar on Feb. 22, which used R-73Es to shoot down two Karrar drones. This appears to be a separate operation and it is not clear if the same drone model was shot down by the Yak-130.
R-73E short-range AAM
The R-73E is the export variant of the R-73 that initially entered production in 1984 in the Soviet Union, designed for WVR (Within Visual Range) combat. The missile is known for its staggering maneuvering capabilities with powerful thrust vectoring, surface controls to chase fast maneuvering targets and the compatibility with helmet mounted sights. This allows pilots to cue targets with their line-of-sight, giving the missile a high off-boresight capability.
The weapon has a cryogenically cooled infrared seeker with all aspect engagement capability, which Russians claim is resistant to Electronic Counter Measures (ECM), flares and decoys. The warhead is a high-explosive fragmentation device. The R-73E is in the same class as the U.S.-made AIM-9X Sidewinder, the Chinese PL-10 or MBDA’s ASRAAM (Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile).
Balancing advanced jet training and combat
While the Iranian Yak-130 is far from being operationalized and seeing actual combat and aerial engagement, the nature of the engagement broadly validates the analysis in The Aviationist that the jet can serve as a point defense aircraft, defending military bases and other installations from drone and cruise missiles. “In Tehran’s case, the Yak-130 can protect its nuclear sites, defense industry and bases by coordinating with its considerably advanced air defense systems, and possibly with its Russian-made Su-35S, whenever it enters service,” we said at the time.
However, cruise missiles would be a far more complex and trickier target, particularly since Iran lacks AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft and other Gen. 4.5 fighters to complement ground-based AD systems and satellite surveillance.
One MiG-29B and one MiG-29UB of the 11th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the #IranianAirForce were deployed to 10th Tactical Fighter Base in #Chabahar, SE of #Iran to take part in exercise Zulfiqar-1403 this saturday. They used R-73E missiles to shoot down two Karrar target drones… pic.twitter.com/GPTGFyzviH
— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) February 24, 2025
Even more importantly, the Yak-130’s primarily role is to train pilots for the incoming Su-35s, as well as the other U.S-made Cold War-era F-14 Tomcats, F-4E Phantom IIs and F-5 Tigers. These have little airworthiness and cannot be extensively used since they are hungry for spares, choked by sanctions and Washigton’s crackdown on aerospace parts’ smuggling rings run by North America-based Iranians.
Iran’s own domestically built jet trainers can be used for intermediate jet flight training, but not advanced jet instruction prior to squadron assignments. This has caused a cyclical air safety issue in Tehran’s military aviation fleet. Moreover, the 12 claimed Yak-130s would be fully engaged in the pilot training program once the Su-35s arrive, at least initially, and the IRIAF would find it hard to spare some of them for combat.
Tehran Times added that the Yak-130s are “a platform for training pilots on fourth-generation fighters while also providing limited combat support.” It therefore remains to be seen how prominently they figure in these operations. At the same time, IRIAF could also be freezing the operational, logistical and tactical procedures with the Yak-130s for the future, should they need to be pressed into combat service.
