Right side view of a Soviet Yak-38 on the deck of a Soviet aircraft carrier.
The Yakovlev Yak-38 (Russian: Яковлев Як-38) is the Soviet Naval Aviation's first operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft, in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It was developed specifically for and served almost exclusively on the Kiev-class aircraft carriers. Due to extensive safety issues, it was quickly withdrawn from service and replaced by the Yakovlev Yak-43.
