Gloves Come Off.

The article reports on the completion of the delivery of the Yak-130 Mitten fixed-wing combat training plane to Lipetsk air base in Russia in February 2010. The trainer will form the central part of a new program aimed at preparing pilots for advanced combat aircraft designs. The Yak-130 is said to be the first new aircraft of such a type to enter the Russian air force inventory in almost 50 years. Also noted is the reliance of the air force on obsolete piston-engine aircraft for initial undergraduate pilot training, despite the addition of the Mitten.