The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Ukraine Buying New-Build L-39 Drone Hunters
Modernized L-39 has a Williams engine and laser guided weapons.
Ukraine’s air force is expecting delivery of four new-build Aero Vodochody L-39 drone hunting aircraft in 2027 as the first installment in an overall order of 16 aircraft. The new L-39s, which carry the nickname Skyfox to differentiate them from the Cold War Albatros trainers, are fully modernized versions of the Czech aircraft that is a popular choice among warbird owners in the U.S. It has a Williams FJ44-4M turbofan engine, modern avionics and can carry modern munitions. It’s also been lightened and strengthened. While it can be used as a trainer or even in a light attack role, Ukraine is buying them to shoot down drones.
Russia is launching thousands of cheap high speed one-way drones and Ukraine has to use expensive frontline fighters to intercept them. The L-39s cost far less to buy and maintain than the F-16, MiGs and soon Gripens that make up the fighter force. The new versions have a top speed of 560 mph and a service ceiling of 38,000 feet and the Drone Hunter version of the Skyfox will carry laser guided missiles and possibly gun pods to dispatch drones
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