A-Model 07291 Yakovlev Yak-28R Soviet Jet Fighter-Bomber (reconnaissance version)

The Yakovlev Yak-28 was a metal-structure jet, medium bomber, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft in the Soviet-made cantilever mid-wing configuration. The propulsion was provided by two Tumanski R-11 jet engines. The flight of the prototype took place in 1958, and serial production continued in the USSR from 1959 to 1972. It is estimated that about 1,200 copies of this machine were produced during it.

The Yakovlev Yak-28, despite its external resemblance to the Yak-25, was not based on its design, although it did use some of its components. Many development versions were created in the course of serial production. The first one (Yak-28A) allowed the use of radar guided missiles. Shortly thereafter, a version of the Yak-28I was developed with much better electronics and a radar system. A training version (Yak-28U) with a double cockpit was also created. In 1963, a prototype of the observation version (Yak-28R), based largely on the Yak-28I model, was tested. From 1964, a fighter version (Yak-28P) was introduced in batches, which could use modern AA-3 Anab missiles. The Yakovlev Yak-28 was not exported, and individual versions of this successful aircraft were withdrawn from service in the 1980s.