Yak-130 jets for Syria awaiting 'political decision'

Russia has manufactured several Yak-130 combat trainer jets for Syria as part of a deal signed in 2011, but no final decision on delivery has yet been made, a Russian official source said on Thursday. An unspecified number of the aircraft have been produced by aircraft-builder Irkut as part of the $550 million deal for 36 Yak-130s. "They are standing outside the factory waiting for a political decision," a source with the Russian delegation at the Paris Air Show told RIA Novosti on Thursday, without revealing the number of planes. The aircraft are bare airframes only and have not yet been fitted with their engines or avionics, the source added. "If a positive decision is made, the maker’s specialists will install the engines and avionics and the planes will be delivered to the customer," the source said. Earlier this month, Russian Kommersant business daily reported that Russia has already received an advanced payment of $100 million from the Syrian government for the first six jets under the contract.