Yakovlev Yak-28

what is it?

The Yakovlev Yak-28 (Russian: Яковлев Як-28) is a swept wing, turbojet-powered combat aircraft used by the Soviet Union. Produced initially as a tactical medium bomber, it was also manufactured in reconnaissance, electronic warfare, interceptor, and trainer versions, known by the NATO reporting names Brewer, Brewer-E, Firebar, and Maestro respectively. Based on the Yak-129 prototype first flown on 5 March 1958, it began to enter service in 1964.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 12.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,840 km/htop speed
• range 2,500 kmwithout refuelling
• size 20 tmax take-off weight
• built 1,180made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 68 years ago, in 1958.
• 🏎️Top speed is 14.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.5 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 12.5 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 2,500 km: 14× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.9× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1958-03-05

introduced

1960

retired

1994

status

retired

number built

1,180

role

bomber

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Yakovlev, Irkutsk Aviation Plant, Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association, Saratov Aviation Plant

engines

2× Tumansky R-11

crew

2

length

21.6 m

wingspan

12.5 m

height

4 m

max take-off weight

20 t

top speed

1,840 km/h

range

2,500 km

ceiling

16,750 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.