First Czech-made serial combat training aircraft Aero L-39NG ready for Vietnamese Air Force.

The Czech company Aero Vodochody begins deliveries of the latest L-39NG jet aircraft to Vietnam, on the eve of the Czechs showed the first aircraft intended for this country, topwar.ru reports. Moreover, the aircraft is already painted in the colors of the Vietnamese Air Force and has serial number 2303.

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The first Aero L-39NG in the colors of the Vietnamese Air Force, with serial number 2303 (Picture source: topwar.ru)

The fact that Vietnam purchased a squadron of L-39NG combat trainer aircraft for its own Air Force was reported in February 2021. According to the signed agreement, the Czechs should deliver 12 UBS to Vietnam in 2023-2024, and Hanoi was supposed to receive the first aircraft in July. Also, under the agreement, the Czechs will train personnel, both flying and ground-based, and supply spare parts and equipment for training and operating equipment.

It is worth noting that Vietnam has historically cooperated with the Czech aircraft manufacturer. In the 1970s and 80s, Hanoi bought Zlín Z-226, Aero AE 45 and L-39 Albatros aircraft from what was then Czechoslovakia. L-39NG is the latest version of the L-39 Albatros, which made its first flight in 1968 and was produced for the Soviet Air Force and the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The new aircraft are fitted with a composite wing and lose additional fuel tanks that were located at the wingtips of the base Albatros. Instead of the Soviet AI-25TL jet engine, the modernized American FJ44-4M was installed on the L-39NG. The L-39NG also has new avionics from Genesys Aerosystems and an indicator on the Speel Praha windshield. In total, more than half of the components and assemblies of the aircraft were replaced with new ones.

The maximum takeoff weight of L-39NG is 5.8 tons. It can reach speeds of up to 775 km/h and fly up to 2,600 km. The aircraft is equipped with five suspension points for various types of weapons with a total weight of up to 1.2 tons.