Got this new tweet from @lylegoldstein.
Needless to say, quite an interesting claim from the Russians.
Didn't know that China managed to get their hands on the Yak-38 S/VTOL fighter in the 1990s until now.
The only instance we know about such interactions is when Lockheed Martin got into a partnership with Yakolev on the Yak-131 S/VTOL fighter's development in the same time period.
Also, I didn't manage to find any mention on the Chinese internet WRT the claim of China having acquired Yak-38s from Russia in the 1990s, either.You should double check with alternate souce for credibility of this article. Look at the title of his article, which is ending with a "?".
Yet, in the meantime, what I did notice is quite a number of mentions on the Chinese internet, claiming that China had bought the blueprints of the R-79V-300 engine that were used on the Yak-141 instead.
However, I am unable to independently verify the authenticity of these claims, so please take these claims with a massive pinch of salt.
Maybe someone here could ask Yankee, Shilao, Ayi, Orca, and/or someone else who are more knowledgeable on the matter?
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