Kalinak: Slovakia Considering Buying L-39 Skyfox Aircraft from Czech Republic
Slovakia is considering purchasing several L-39 Skyfox subsonic tactical training aircraft manufactured by Czech company Aero Vodochody, said Defence Minister Robert Kalinak during his visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, adding that the Czech bid is very attractive.
Prague, April 8 (TASR-correspondent) - Slovakia is considering purchasing several L-39 Skyfox subsonic tactical training aircraft manufactured by Czech company Aero Vodochody, said Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) during his visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, adding that the Czech bid is very attractive.
Kalinak started his visit to the Czech Republic by visiting Aero Vodochody, accompanied by his Czech counterpart Jana Cernochova.
According to Kalinak, Slovak training aircraft have already reached the end of their lifespans. "We still have the last two L-39 Albatroses in our hangars, and we have to look for newer ones ... The bid is definitely very attractive, and we want to discuss it in detail in the upcoming weeks and months, as the training of pilots is what is most important," said the Slovak minister. L-39 Albatros subsonic jet trainer aircraft were also produced in Vodochody at the time of the common Czechoslovak state.
Kalinak noted that training pilots is demanding. Although Slovakia signed a contract to purchase American F-16 fighter jets back in 2018, only eight Slovak pilots of the planned 22 have been trained on these aircraft to date, he said. Therefore, it is important for Slovakia to have its own training equipment, such as the L-39 Skyfox offered by the Czech Republic, which are even multi-purpose, he added.
Kalinak didn't want to be more specific as to how many planes Slovakia would be interested in. "Not one, not four; it should be an adequate number that meets the capabilities of both the service cycle and the large number of flight hours that pilots need," said the minister, adding that 12 aircraft, the number owned by Hungary, is close to the number that Slovakia is interested in.
The Aero L-39 Skyfox is a two-seater subsonic tactical trainer aircraft suitable for training pilots of fourth and fifth generation aircraft, such as the F-16, F-35 and Gripen.
