The Yak-38 Forger was the fixed-wing aircraft associated with the Kiev class. Its ability to fly and serve at sea was noteworthy given the narrow budget and urgent requirement behind it. The aircraft was not an ideal solution, but it supplied a usable first generation for Soviet heavy aviation ships. It makes more sense when judged against the institutional need it met than against later, more mature vertical-flight aircraft alone.
Notable Point · 1:03:10-1:04:29
The Yak-38 as a shoestring first-generation carrier aircraft
The Yak-38 was limited but remarkable as a low-budget aircraft created because the Soviet Navy needed something to operate from its first Kiev-class aviation ships.