Aero L-39 Albatros

L-39 Albatros
A Czech Air Force L-39
Role	Military trainer aircraft Light ground-attack aircraft Type of aircraft
National origin	Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer	Aero Vodochody
Designer	Jan Vlček[1]
First flight	4 November 1968
Introduction	28 March 1972 with the Czechoslovak Air Force[2]
Status	In service
Primary users	Soviet Air Force (Old) Ukrainian Air Force Czechoslovak Air Force Libyan Air Force Syrian Air Force
Produced	1971–1996[3] 2023–present (L-39NG)[4]
Number built	2,900[3]
Developed from	Aero L-29 Delfín
Variants	Aero L-39NG
Developed into	Aero L-59 Super Albatros Aero L-159 Alca

The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced by Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic. In addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flown combat missions in a light-attack role. Unusually, the aircraft never received a NATO reporting name.

The L-39 Albatros was designed during the 1960s as a successor to the Aero L-29 Delfín, an early jet-powered principal training aircraft. Performing its maiden flight on 4 November 1968, it became the first trainer aircraft in the world to be equipped with a turbofan powerplant. Quantity production of the L-39 Albatros proceeded in 1971; one year later, it was formally recognized by the majority of the Warsaw Pact countries as their preferred primary trainer. Accordingly, thousands of L39s would be produced for various military customers in Eastern Europe. Additionally, it was exported to a range of countries across the world both as a trainer and a light attack aircraft. Since the 1990s, it has also become popular among civilian operators. By the end of the century, in excess of 2,800 L-39s had served with over 30 air forces.

Several derivatives of the L-39 Albatros were developed. During the 1980s, Aero Vodochody used it as the basis for the L-59 Super Albatros, an enlarged and updated model. Furthermore, the L-39 lineage would be extended to the L-139, a prototype L-39 fitted with a Western-sourced Garrett TFE731 engine. A combat-oriented development of the aircraft, designated as the L-159 ALCA, entered production in 1997, and has since been procured by a range of export customers. Production of the original L-39 came to an end during the mid-1990s, orders having declined substantially following the end of the Cold War. At the Farnborough Airshow in July 2014, Aero Vodochody announced the launch of the L-39NG, an upgraded and modernised version of the L-39; this programme is set to produce new-build aircraft alongside the extensive rebuilding of existing aircraft. In 2023, production of the L-39NG resumed, with 34 aircraft on order.^[4]