Yak-36M, marking what was essentially a pre-series example, carried a lower-powered engine of 14,660lb thrust and differed slightly from the production-quality aircraft. This work then led to the Yak-38 (NATO: "Forger-A") which became the first service aircraft joining the Soviet Navy ranks during August of 1976. These carried a 16,250lb thrust engine and total production yielded 143 units.
To help train Soviet naval pilots in the intricacies of VSTOL flight, the Forger was evolved into a dedicated two-seat training form in the Yak-38U (NATO: "Forger-B"). The fuselage was lengthened to accept the second cockpit and this model entered service on November 15th, 1978 with 38 examples following in production.
After some time in service, the Yak-38 family was modernized to produce the Yak-38M "Forger-A" designation. A Tumansky R-28 V-300 (vectored-thrust) and Rybinsk RD-38 engine combination replaced the original pairing for forward propulsion / lift thrust respectively. The added power increased the design's Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) by over 2,000lb and this led to reinforced underwing hardpoints for greater carried war loads. The intake openings were revised for the new engine fit and the product came online in June 1985 and 50 examples followed.
There existed several unfulfilled Forger offshoots during its operational history as well: the Yak-36P was intended as a supersonic fighter and the Yak-38MP was to carry the advanced navigation and attack suite of the Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum" fighter series. The Yak-39 was projected as a multirole platform but joined the others in Soviet aviation history as abandoned projects.
The Yak-38 encountered only extremely limited combat exposure during the Soviet-Afghanistan War of the 1980s.Twelve sorties were made with no notable actions recorded. The Yak-38 series, as a whole, suffered from inherently limited operational ranges, limited performance, and a limited weapons-carrying capability to make it effective in any one role. Nevertheless, it still offered sound fleet defense service for its time on Soviet carriers as it could carry useful Air-to-Air Missiles (AAMs).
With the Yak-38 line officially retired in 1991-1992, attempts to replace the series in the carrier-based VTOL role through the Tak-41 "Freestyle" and Yak-43 initiatives were unsuccessful - allowing the Yak-38 to keep its place in Soviet naval aviation history for the foreseeable future.
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