As was announced in 2019, the Slovakian Air Force will replace its ageing Mig-29 aircraft with new F-16C/D/70s. The question now is how to replace the L-39Cs, which are also ageing subsonic training aircraft that have been used to train young pilots. One possible answer could come from the Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody, which certified its new L-39NG training aircraft in 2020.
Last week, pilots from the Slovakian Air Force tested the second prototype of the Aero L-39NG in Sliac, which the Slovakian army would like to purchase – allegedly in a weaponized version. The Czech delegation included the chief designer of the new version, Jaromír Lang. The Air Force and Ministry personnel were also briefed on the possibilities of the virtual training component and the future parameters of the weaponized version of the L-39NG as a light combat aircraft, which should be ready in the first quarter of 2022.
The Czech manufacturer is also offering Bratislava to relocate part of the production of its new aircraft to Slovakia as part of the contract: “We are offering Slovakia a strategic cooperation that includes the acquisition of eight L-39NG aircraft. Our solution would ensure greater self-sufficiency in the training of future F-16 pilots and at the same time bring significant savings in the financial costs of this training. A strong argument is also the offer of comprehensive industrial cooperation in the production of the L39NG aircraft,” says Zdeněk Hlačík, Marketing Director of Aero Vodochody for Slovakia.
Aero is offering to contractually relocate the production of certain components for the L-39NG to the buyer’s country. The potential contract could be agreed with the state-owned aviation repair company Trenčín (LOT, now Aviation Repair Services Trencin). According to Aero spokesman Tobiáš Tvrdík, the company is considering outsourcing the production of the aircraft nose, the rear part of the fuselage, airbrakes or additional tanks. “According to our information, the decision on the acquisition could be made at the turn of the year,” he added.
At the end of 2018, Bratislava (see report) for 14 F-16 Block 70/72s for around 1.6 billion euros. The FMS share for Lockheed Martin amounts to around 700 million euros, with the first aircraft to be delivered in Greenville SC. in 2022. However, these aircraft will initially remain in the USA to train the first pilots. There are currently eight pilots in the USA, six of whom are currently learning English and English/NATO aviation phraseology. Further aspirants are to be selected from future graduates of TU Košice. By the end of 2023, all aircraft are to be relocated to Slovakia, including two two-seaters. However, Bratislava would still like to have its own basic pilot training in the future. This is currently provided by six L-39 aircraft, which date back to the division of Czechoslovakia. However, these will be retired in the coming years and the Slovakian army will have to find a replacement for them. In addition, only two of them are currently operational after being overhauled by Aero.
Alternatively, the entire training for the F-16 could be outsourced to the USA, but this would be more expensive according to Slovakian reports surrounding the tests. As the Slovakian Minister of Defense Jaroslav Naď has now stated, the purchase of training aircraft and the training of fighter pilots under the army’s own management should bring savings in the order of several million euros per year. In addition, the weather in central European and partly mountainous Slovakia is often much worse than in the south or southwest of the USA, and pilots would first have to be trained at home if they were to train abroad.
During the tests, the State Secretary of the Slovakian Ministry of Defense, Marian Majer, defined the renewal of training technology as a priority for his ministry: “As we all know, everything has a lifespan, including the Mig-29 and L-39 Albatrosy, which is coming to an end. Two L-39 aircraft have been overhauled, but without any major modernization of the outdated avionics. The current configuration and equipment of the L-39 aircraft, even after their repair, will mean that a possible transition to modern F-16 fighters will be very difficult. So the question is, is there another solution that will also save Slovakia money? Because this kind of long training of pilots in distant foreign countries is unnecessarily expensive and not conceptual for us as a state. However, it is possible to have pilots and their families in Slovakia for most of the training, and in this respect the current pandemic has shown us how advantageous and strategic it is to be as self-sufficient as possible in order to ensure the security of our own country – which of course includes the training of key personnel such as tactical pilots. All the more so if this option were available in cooperation with our traditional partner, who also signals financial savings for us and offers interesting opportunities for cooperation in the aviation industry.”
In addition to Aero, companies from the UK and Italy are also interested in a Slovakian contract. The British
Zdenek Hlačík from Aero again: “Our company has prepared background material for the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic, where a detailed elaboration analysis was carried out, which can achieve significant savings in the training of military and tactical pilots. The timely procurement of L-39NG training aircraft would enable significant industrial cooperation and the involvement of the Slovak defense industry in it. It is also important to preserve the capabilities and human resources of the training squadron. Slovakia would thus gain real independence in the training of tactical pilots from 2025.”
However, the first aircraft of the new generation L-39NG will be delivered to Vietnam (Militär Aktuell reported). The army there will spend several billion crowns (1 billion crowns = 38.7 million euros) on twelve aircraft and the associated services. Delivery is scheduled for 2023 and 2024. The manufacturer based north of Prague is also negotiating with the Hungarian army, which is also interested in twelve aircraft. At the end of last year, Hungarian pilots tested the L-39NG in Kecskemet (Military News reported). Mr. Hlacik is also in contact with the Provisioning Section of the Austrian Ministry of Defence. However, the aforementioned arguments for pilot training are currently countered by the “single-fleet solution” and the (expensive) training abroad that has been decided upon in this country since the end of the Saab-105. In addition, Aero has been negotiating for years to finalize the sale of four L-39NG LCAs to Senegal under a long-standing agreement. In addition, Aero is currently in the home stretch of its change of ownership (Militär Aktuell reported). The Penta Investments Group has sold the company to Aero Investments Partners. Hungarian businessman András Tombor holds 51 percent of the shares, while the remainder is controlled by the Czech group Omnipol. The transaction has already been approved by the relevant competition authorities and should be completed in June.
According to various media reports, there certainly seems to be interest in working with Aero in Slovakia. Miroslav Hájek, former chief engineer of the Military Aviation Academy and the White Albatrosses AERObatic Group, told the press that he is convinced of the advantages: “In its concept, the L-39NG is the successor to the L-39 Albatross, a training system that has been known in Slovakia since 1974. Due to the fact that there is extensive experience with the use of the system in the training of pilots and technical personnel. At the Slovak Military University (Military Aviation Academy Department) and the Aviation Training Center, it was determined that the L-39NG is the most suitable replacement for the current L-39s used by the Slovak Armed Forces from several objective points of view.” Hájek continues: “Our infrastructure is ready for the possible arrival of the L-39NG, and the personnel is also trained for this type of aircraft. The transition to the already purchased F-16 would be smooth, as the avionics equipment and cockpit layout of the L-39NG are quite identical or similar to those of the F-16. Ergonomics, arrangement of elements, control of on-board systems and information displays allow from a technical point of view a compact training of pilots with a smooth transition to modern current military aircraft of the 4th or 5th generation. And due to the fact that the L-39NG is a successor to the L-39, whose development and production takes place in the neighboring Czech Republic, we assume that technical personnel, instructors and logistical support can be trained and retrained without any problems.”
His words are also confirmed by the former commander of the White Albatrosses acrobatics group (once an acrobatics team of the SlAF on L-39C) Ivan Chvojka: “Due to the ‘unfavorable’ airworthiness status of the current L-39 Albatros aircraft and thus the limited ability to provide quality and continuous flight training for pilots, it is high time to change the aircraft. Given the very good relationship with Aero Vodochody in the past, it would be obvious to renew this cooperation – not only by supplying aircraft, but in all forms offered, including training concept, simulation and so on. With the L-39NG it would be possible to train towards the F-16 without the need for further intermediate phases. Of course, it would be necessary to make resources and efforts available to provide this training for a maximum period of three years with an annual flight hour workload of around 180 hours. This would allow young pilots to complete their flying and tactical training without unnecessary breaks due to time spent abroad. The USAF’s ideas or approach are somewhat different, but financially difficult for us to implement. Since the Czech Republic already has many years of experience in preparing pilots for the transition to Gripen in accordance with NATO requirements, I think this cooperation makes sense.”
As several aerobatic teams flew and still fly on the conventional L-39s, more than one top acrobat has already sat in the new L-39NG aircraft, including Jacques Bothelin, head of the well-known Breitling Jet team with seven L-39s. About the NG, he said: “When you sit in the cockpit of the L-39NG, you feel like you’re in a brand new airplane. It’s much more modern, it’s easier to see everything inside and out, so it’s also much safer for day-to-day operations. Of course, the original aircraft was also very safe, as it was produced almost 3,000 times. But the flight characteristics of the L-39NG are much better, the aircraft is unmistakably more agile and reacts even better immediately. I think that has to do with the omission of the wingtip tanks. The main features that today’s training aircraft should have are easy handling, modern cockpit equipment, high safety and availability for many hours, which are much cheaper than in the fighter aircraft relieved by this.”
UpdateAs Militär Aktuell has learned, the pilots of the UAE’s aerobatic team, Al Fursan (Ritter), are to take a closer look at and test the L-39NG at the factory near Prague this week. The “clone team” of the Italian Frecce Triccolori is currently flying MB-339PANs, just like the Italians. For reasons that probably have nothing to do with the aircraft, the UAE has not yet approached Leonardo’s M345HET – the logical successor for the Frecce – or the M346, which was already selected at IDEX-2009.
Here for more news about Aero Vodochody and here to further news about the Slovakian armed forces.
