Meet the SR-10 – Russia’s first privately designed trainer aircraft

For the first time in the history of Russian aviation, a private design bureau has created an aircraft that can outperform its state-designed counterparts. The SR-10 light trainer plane is expected to go into production in 2017.

he SR-10 light dual-pilot jet trainer aircraft caused a sensation when it first took to the Russian skies in late December 2015. For the first time in Russian aviation, a private design bureau had created a plane – from scratch, without public financial support – which can edge out aircraft produced by the aviation industry's big guns in the markets.

The trainer aircraft SR-10, fully assembled from domestic components, is proposed to be an intermediate trainer between the light Yak-152, which is designed for the basic flight training of military pilots, and the trainer/attack aircraft Yak-130. This niche is now occupied by the Czech L-39.

Designed in Moscow, built in the Caucasus

"The Russian air force needs an easy, simple and inexpensive jet trainer to replace the L-39 fleet, and the Russian military are showing interest in the SR-10 project," said Maxim Mironov, director of the Modern Aviation Technologies Design Bureau, in an interview with the industry website AviaPort.

"The MiG-AT, a simpler and cheaper plane compared to the Yak-130, failed to be delivered, and now there is a gap between the basic trainer Yak-152 and the trainer/attack aircraft Yak-130," said Mironov.

Developed by the private design bureau in Moscow and built by aircraft manufacturers at a factory in Makhachkala in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan (for which it received the nickname of "Dagestani"), the SR-10 is a single-engine jet aircraft, fitted with a single forward-swept wing, allowing for excellent maneuverability.

The somewhat unusual aerodynamic design, which gives the aircraft a futuristic look, makes piloting the aircraft easier. The machine even forgives some pilot errors that inevitably arise in the training process.

What’s more, the aircraft has no restrictions on performing aerobatic figures. Air cadets can execute the same spectacular stunts in the SR-10, as in fourth- and fourth-plus-generation combat aircraft (Su-27, Su-35, MiG-29).

Private aircraft industry breakthrough

"This is a breakthrough in private aircraft construction. To create a jet is a high level of technology for any country," Viktor Galenko, pilot and head of the Aviator.guru website, said in an interview with RBTH.

"The SR-10 has a very low operating cost compared to other machines. It is very simple to manufacture. The machine is good for training cadets and for pilots' training in the army, meaning less expenditure on the very expensive resources of military aircraft," said Galenko.

The aircraft is currently being tested at the Gromov Flight Research Center in Moscow, with plans underway to build the first 16 SR-10 aircraft later this year. Mass production will begin in 2017.

The developers expect that the Russian military will be happy with the aircraft, and the Aerospace Forces will be able – for the first time in history – to adopt a plane developed by a private design bureau without the involvement of public funds.

The Ministry of Defense is waiting for the end of the testing and, if successful, is ready to buy four of the aircraft. The Modern Aviation Technologies Design Bureau has estimated the military department's needs at 100 SR-10 aircraft in the next four years.

The SR-10 has also attracted interest from the military of a number of foreign countries, where military pilots fly the same Czech L-39 as their Russian colleagues. At present the export potential of the aircraft is estimated at 200 machines.