Now under the ownership of Czech private equity group Penta, Aero Vodochody hopes to claw its way out of debt by January. Efforts to export a trainer version of the manufacturer's L-159A advanced light combat aircraft could potentially play a key part in determining its long-term viability.
Aero Vodochody has built over 6,500 military trainers since the early 1960s, but crucially failed to build on a domestic order to supply the Czech air force with 72 L-159s by attracting export users for the single-seat type and a two-seat B model. Subsequent blows included the Czech government's decision to store 48 of its aircraft amid a funding crisis and a failed business arrangement with US giant Boeing.
Gaining momentum
Penta will axe 450 of Aero Vodochody's 1,650 jobs by August, while efforts to dispose of the Czech Republic's surplus L-159As are gaining momentum. The first of four aircraft to be remanufactured to an L-159T1 trainer configuration for the Czech air force made its debut flight early this month under the terms of a June 2006 conversion deal. The design incorporates a new main fuselage but reuses the wing and tail from an L-159A which has amassed what the company describes as "minimum flight hours". The platforms will be returned to Caslav airbase on the completion of development, certification and operational evaluation work later this year, Aero Vodochody says.
Also referred to as the L-159BAT, the new design could prove attractive to nations looking to acquire interim training solutions because of delayed procurement activity, platform obsolescence and stalled multinational initiatives. The company is also offering long-term logistics support, having last year signed an agreement to sustain the Czech air force's 24 retained L-159s until December 2030.
Potential buyers of the trainer variant include Chile, Greece and Israel, but Aero Vodochody recently failed to reach the shortlist for a lucrative requirement in the United Arab Emirates, losing out to the Alenia Aermacchi M-346, BAE Systems Hawk 128 and the Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin T-50. The Czech company has, however, managed to secure continued limited orders for its older L-39ZA, and is in the process of building 12 examples for Bangladesh.
Back to the military trainers review list
Source: Flight International
