Yakovlev Yak-38

Yakovlev Yak-38
Country	Soviet Union
Type	VTOL Fighter aircraft
First flight	1971
Built	231

The Yakovlev Yak-38 (Russian: Яковлев Як-38; NATO reporting name: “Forger”) was Soviet Naval Aviation’s only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft, in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It was developed specifically for and served almost exclusively on the Kiev-class aircraft carriers.

Yak-36M “Forger” : The initial pre-production version, differing slightly from the Yak-38. It weighed only 6,650 kg (14,660 lb) compared to the Yak-38’s 7,370 kg (16,250 lb) and the engines were slightly less powerful.

Source: Yakovlev Yak-38 on Wikipedia

Yakovlev Yak-38
Photographer	Vladimir Yakubov
Localisation	Unknow
Photos	111

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Yak-38 Forger Walk Around
Photographer	Dmitri Sribnyi
Localisation	Yakovlev Design Bureau museum
Photos	145

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Yak-38 Walk Around
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Yakovlev Yak-38 Forger Walk Around
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The “Steel-Winged” Experiment

The Yakovlev Yak-38 was the Soviet Navy’s answer to the British Harrier. Entering service in 1976, it was designed specifically to operate from the Kiev-class “heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers.” Unlike the Harrier’s single engine with four swiveling nozzles, the Yak-38 used a complex and controversial “lift-plus-cruise” configuration: one main engine for forward flight and two dedicated vertical-lift jets behind the cockpit. While it gave the Soviet Union a fixed-wing presence at sea, it was a temperamental machine with limited range and a payload capacity that often left it nicknamed “the deck-bound toy.”

Attribute	Technical Specification (Yak-38M)
Role	VTOL Shipborne Strike/Fighter
Crew	1 (Pilot)
Main Engine	1 × Tumansky R-28V-300 vectored-thrust turbofan (15,000 lbf)
Lift Engines	2 × Rybinsk RD-38 turbojets (7,200 lbf each)
Maximum Speed	1,050 km/h (650 mph / Mach 0.95)
Combat Radius	130–300 km (depending on takeoff mode)
Armament	4 × External hardpoints (up to 2,000 kg / 4,400 lbs)
Standard Load	R-60 AAMs, Kh-23M ASMs, FAB-250/500 bombs, or 23mm gun pods

Design Engineering: The Perils of Vertical Flight

Automatic Ejection System: The Yak-38 featured a unique (and terrifying) safety feature. Because the aircraft would flip instantly if one lift engine failed, Yakovlev installed an automatic ejection seat. If the plane exceeded a certain pitch or roll angle during VTOL, the seat would fire the pilot out without their permission.
The “Lift-Plus-Cruise” Trap: During vertical takeoff, the Yak-38 burned fuel at a staggering rate. To carry a useful weapons load, pilots often had to perform “short” rolling takeoffs instead of purely vertical ones, but the small wings provided very little lift.
No Radar: The “Forger-A” lacked an internal radar, relying on the pilot’s eyes and the “Mother Ship’s” controllers for interception. It was primarily intended to shoot down slow-moving NATO maritime patrol planes like the P-3 Orion.
Environmental Fragility: The lift engines were notoriously finicky in hot or humid climates. During deployments to Africa and Afghanistan, the engines often refused to start if the air temperature was too high, earning it the reputation of being a “fair-weather fighter.”

Combat and Service History

Operation Romb (Afghanistan, 1980): A small detachment of Yak-38s was sent to Afghanistan for “trial by fire.” They performed roughly 12 sorties, but the high-altitude, dusty environment was brutal on the engines, and the aircraft proved to have almost no tactical value compared to the Su-25.
The “Baka” of the Cold War? While it looked futuristic, Western analysts quickly realized the Yak-38 was no match for the Sea Harrier. It lacked the maneuverability for dogfighting and the range for deep strikes.
Safety Record: Roughly one-third of the total production (approx. 231 built) was lost in accidents. However, the automatic ejection system saved dozens of lives, despite occasionally firing during minor malfunctions that might have been recoverable.
Legacy: Despite its flaws, the Yak-38 taught the Soviets everything they needed to know about VTOL. Its successor, the Yak-141 Freestyle, was a supersonic beast that later influenced the design of the American F-35B’s swivel-nozzle system.