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The L-39CW pictured offers retrofitted
improvements to the baseline L-39 in the form of a new engine and modern
avionics. (Aero Vodochody)
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Gareth Jennings -
IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
20 November 2017
Aero Vodochody has completed development of a new variant
of its L-39 trainer and light attack aircraft designated the L-39CW, the
company announced on 20 November.
The L-39CW involves retrofitting an existing L-39 with a
more powerful and more efficient Williams International FJ44-4M jet engine as
well as modern avionics. According to Aero, ground and flight trails have now
been completed and the configuration is ready for delivery.
While the baseline L-39 is in service with a number of
countries, Aero has given no indication as to which have signed up for the
L-39CW enhancement, except to say that it is in negotiations for the retrofit
of “tens of aircraft”. There are approximately 600 L-39s flying today with the
air forces of Algeria, Angola, Armenia Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia,
Cuba, the Czech Republic, Egypt Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya (most of which are believed to have been
withdrawn from use), Lithuania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Russia, Slovakia, South Sudan,
Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Yemen.
“Based on big existing fleet and our approach of
supporting L-39s users and building business relationships with them, we
developed a package, available for the customers to improve operating
capabilities by new engine and also new avionics,” said Giuseppe Giordo,
president of Aero Vodochody.
The L-39CW is the latest in a long list of L-39 variants
that includes the recently launched L-39NG. First unveiled at the 2014 Farnborough
International Airshow, the L-39NG features the same FJ44-4M engine as the
L-39CW, as well as other improvements. The main differentiator between the
L-39CW and L-39NG appears to be that the former offers upgrades to existing
airframes, while the latter is a new-build solution that offers some additional
enhancements.
Original post: janes.com
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