Development started in the 1990s, simultaneously with a more advanced turbofan trainer
YAK-130, based on the successful YAK-54 design. Both were supposed to have similar
cockpits to allow for easy changeover from a lighter YAK-152 to bigger YAK-130. By 2001 the new type was selected as the future main primary air force trainer. During the early 2000s progress of the project was limited due to lack of funding. In 2006
Chinese investors financed further development of the project, creating their own offspring
Hongdu Yakovlev CJ-7, equipped with the Russian
Vedeneyev M14X radial piston engine Yakovlev Design Bureau (a.k.a. Irkut) chose Russian-
German RED A03 diesel V-type engine created by Vladimir Raikhlin, who moved to Germany from Russia where he worked as automotive engineer at
VAZ. Engine manufacturing in
Adenau, Germany was financed by Russian
FINAM holding. However, as
international sanctions against Russia mounted making engines imports impossible, Yakovlev Bureau Russian reverted to domestic alternatives, like the
VMZ M-9F piston or
Klimov VK-800 turboshaft engines, although these will require large adaptations. In 2016 the Russian
Ministry of Defence announced their intention to purchase at least 150 units once they are into mass production. In January 2024 the flight tests for the military were completed. Besides military use, the aircraft was also projected for
general aviation. Order of 105 units was planned by
Russian DOSAAF for civil pilots' training, also
Belarusian DOSAAF expressed their interest in purchasing the aircraft. ==Operators==