Ethiopia displays new Yak-130 jets

Four Yak-130 jets participated in the aerial display marking the 90th anniversary of the Ethiopian Air Force. (Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation)

The Ethiopian Air Force has received Russian-made Yak-130 advanced jet trainers under an unannounced contract, it was revealed during the airshow marking its 90th anniversary on 23 January.

Four Yak-130s with Ethiopian markings participated in the televised aerial display when the commentator identified them initially as Yak-120s before correcting himself. The tail numbers on the aircraft (2301, 2302, 2303, and 2306) suggested six have been delivered.

A Yak-130 numbered 2305 was also seen in a video released by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on the following day showing it flying in formation with three others over Lake Koka, south of the main airbase at Bishoftu.

Satellite imagery of the airbase suggests the Yak-130s were delivered recently as three were present on 9 January, but none were there on 4 January.

Flankers

The Yak-130s will presumably be primarily used to train pilots to fly Ethiopia's Sukhoi multirole fighters but could also be used as ground attack aircraft.

Ethiopia displayed its two new Su-30 multirole fighters during the airshow marking its 88th anniversary in January 2024. Russian sources said these were two of the six Su-30Ks that were returned by India but not bought by Angola.

While this raised the possibility that Ethiopia would receive the remaining four ex-Indian Su-30Ks, there was no indication during 2026's event that this has happened, with the same aircraft (2401 and 2402) that were shown in 2024 participating in the aerial display.