Aero Vodochody

AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE a.s.

Company type	Akciová společnost
Industry	Aerospace, arms Industry
Predecessor	Aero – továrna létadel
Founded	February 25, 1919; 105 years ago (1919-02-25)
Headquarters	Odolena Voda, Central Bohemian Region , Czech Republic
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Viktor Sotona (president and CEO)
Products	Aircraft, aircraft parts
Services	MRO, pilot training, airport
Total assets	5,384,688,000 Czech koruna (2017)
Total equity	CZK -1.2 bn. (2020)[1]
Number of employees	1,336[2] (2020)
Parent	HSC Aerojet Zrt.
Subsidiaries	Aero (1929–1947)
Website	www.aero.cz

Aero Vodochody (commonly referred to as Aero) is a Czech aircraft company. Its main production facilities are located at Vodochody Airport in the Prague-East District, on the municipal territories of Vodochody and Odolena Voda.

During the Cold War era, the firm was well known for its range of jet-powered trainer aircraft, the L-29 Delfin and L-39 Albatros. It also developed derivatives of the L-39, the L-59 Super Albatros and the L-159 Alca military light combat jet. Aero Vodochody is believed to have handled the biggest aircraft industrial programme to take place across any of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) countries except for the Soviet Union itself. Following the fall of the communist government in Czechoslovakia during 1989, Aero Vodochody experienced a disruptive period of business, having lost a major portion of the market for its jet trainers. Sales noticeably declined during the 1990s in Eastern Europe as well as in NATO countries as a result of the peace dividend.

Between 1998 and 2004, Aero Vodochody was controlled by the American aerospace company Boeing.^[3] During October 2006, the company was privatised once again, being bought by Czech-Slovak investment group Penta Investments for roughly 3 billion CZK.^[4][3] Aero Vodochody continues to manufacture both whole aircraft and aerostructures for the aerospace industry. During the 2014 Farnborough Airshow, it announced the launch of the Aero L-39NG, an upgraded and modernised version of its ubiquitous L-39.

In year 2021 Penta Investments sold their business share to the HSC Aerojet Zrt.