In the next stage, designers plan to equip the aircraft with radar. Three options are being evaluated, said Popovich. The first is from Phazotron-NIIR. Earlier, Phazotron's chief designer, Yury Guskov, told Aviation Week that his company had started developing a slot array antenna radar, dubbed FK-130, for this aircraft.

The other options are an onboard radar from Tikhomirov-NIIP or a radar pod from St. Petersburg's Leninetz plant. According to Popovich, the radar designer and supplier is to be selected by year-end; development efforts are planned for 2013-14.

Popovich said the radar installation will provide the Yak-130 with target detection for air-to-ground missiles such as the Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton), Kh-38 and Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge). “We understand now that the aircraft's stability allows us to use such heavy missiles,” he said, adding that all these improvements are company-initiated.

The aircraft can currently carry up to 6,600 lb. of combat payload, including the short-range R-73 (AA-11 Archer) air-to-air missile with infrared seeker, KAB-500 guided bombs, free-falling bombs, unguided rockets or a pod with 23-mm GSh-23L twin-barreled cannon. The weapons can be fixed at nine external hard points: six underwing, two wingtips and one under the fuselage.

Irkut suggests that the Yak-130 attack version could be used in low-intensity conflicts to engage point-surface targets and low-speed air targets.