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List of Aero L-39 Albatros operators

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  Current military operators
  Current civilian operators
  Former operators

This is a list of countries and their air force units that have operated the Aero L-39 Albatros.

Military operators

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Current

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Abkhazia

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Abkhazian Air Force
  • 4 L-39s as of December 2009

Algeria

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Algerian Air Force
  • 55 L-39s as of December 2020[1]

Armenia

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Armenian Air Force
  • 10 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Angola

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National Air Force of Angola
  • 4 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Azerbaijan

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Azerbaijan Air Force
  • 12 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Bangladesh

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Bangladesh Air Force
  • Operating 7 L-39ZA out of 8 L-39ZA acquired in late 1990s.[1] One was lost in a crash in 2012 killing a pilot.[2]

Belarus

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Belarus Air Force
  • 12 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Bulgaria

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Aero L-39 Albatros of the Bulgarian Air Force
Bulgarian Air Force
  • 1/12 Training Squadron operating 6 L-39ZA aircraft.[1]

Central African Republic

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Central African Republic Air Force
  • 6 L-39s donated by Russia.[3]

Cuba

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Cuban Air Force

operating 26 L-39C aircraft in three squadrons:[1]

  • UM 3710 Escuadrón de Intercepcion
  • UM 1660 Escuela de Ensenanza de Vuelo Avanzada
  • UM 4768 Escuadrón de Intercepcion

Egypt

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Egyptian Air Force
  • 1 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Equatorial Guinea

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Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea
  • 2 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Estonia

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An Estonian L-39 in flight
Estonian Air Force
  • 1 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Ethiopia

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Ethiopian Air Force
  • 10 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Georgia

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Georgian Air Force
  • 8 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Kazakhstan

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Kazakhstan Air Force
  • 17 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Libya

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Aero L-39 Albatros working in Libyan Air Force.
Libyan Air Force
  • 181x L-39ZO acquired during Gaddafi's era.
  • Ten former Libyan L-39ZO delivered to Egypt.[4]
  • 10 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Mali

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Malian Air Force
  • At least four L-39Cs delivered by Russia in August 2022.[5][6]

Mozambique

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Mozambique Air Force
  • One L-39ZO acquired from Romania in 2013.[7][1]

Nigeria

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Nigerian Aero L-39.
Nigerian Air Force
  • 8 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Nicaragua

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Nicaraguan Air Forces

Russia

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Russian Air Force
  • 181 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Senegal

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Senegalese Air Force

Slovakia

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A Slovak L-39ZA (1701) in Biele Albatrosy colors at Radom Air Show 2005
Slovak Air Force
  • 4x L-39C
  • 4x L-39ZA
  • 7 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Syria

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Syrian Air Force
  • 55 L-39ZO and 44 L-39ZA bought from Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s.[8]
  • 61 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Tajikistan

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Tajik Air Force
  • 4 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Tunisia

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Tunisia Air Force
  • 9 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Uganda

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Ugandan Air Force
  • 8 L-39ZA as of December 2020.[1]

Ukraine

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A Ukrainian L-39
Ukrainian Air Force
  • 47 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Uzbekistan

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Uzbekistan Air Force
  • 2 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Vietnam

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Vietnamese Air Force
  • 25 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Yemen

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Yemen Air Force
  • 28 aircraft as of December 2020.[1]

Former

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Afghanistan

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Afghan National Air Corps L-39 Albatross jets take off in a formation practice for the aerial parade in the upcoming Afghan National Day in Kabul, April 12, 2007.
Afghan Air Force

The Afghan Air Force operated as many as 26 L-39Cs from 1977 through 2001, but only three of them survived in 2001. In December 2021, a report by Al Jazeera showed an Afghan L-39 undergoing an engine test at Kabul International Airport.[9]

Cambodia

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Royal Cambodian Air Force
  • Formerly operated 6 L-39C trainer aircraft
  • Recently ordered 4 L-39NG trainer aircraft[10]

Chad

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Military of Chad

Republic of the Congo

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Congolese Air Force

Czech Republic

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a Czech Aero L-39
Czech Air Force
  • L-39C
  • L-39ZA
  • L-39V
  • L-39MS

Czechoslovakia

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Czechoslovakian Air Force
  • 33x L-39C
  • 6x L-39MS
  • 8x L-39V
  • 30x L-39ZA

Two Czechoslovakian AF L-39Vs were delivered to the East German Air Force.[4]

All Czechoslovakian Air Force aircraft passed to successor states – Czech Republic and Slovakia.

East Germany

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East German Air Force
  • 52x L-39ZO
  • 2x L-39V
  • Two former Czechoslovak L-39Vs delivered to the East German Air Force.[4]
  • Twenty former East German L-39ZO delivered to Hungary.[4]

Ghana

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Ghana Air Force
  • 2 L-39ZO

Hungary

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Hungarian Aero L-39 Albatros
Hungarian Air Force
  • 20x L-39ZO
  • Twenty former East German L-39ZO delivered to Hungary [4]

Iraq

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Iraqi Air Force
  • 22x L-39C
  • 59x L-39ZO

Kyrgyzstan

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Kyrgyzstan Air Force
  • 4x (24 in store) L-39C

Lithuania

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Lithuania Aero L-39 Albatros.
Lithuanian Air Force
  • 1x L-39ZA


Romania

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Romanian Air Force
  • 32x L-39ZA

South Sudan

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South Sudan Air Force
  • Unknown number of L-39 jets with logistical and maintenance support from Uganda[11]

Soviet Union

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DOSAAF
Soviet Air Force
  • 2080x L-39C

All Soviet Air Force aircraft passed to successor states: Azerbaijan,the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Thailand

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A Royal Thai Air Force L-39ZA/ART Albatros.
Royal Thai Air Force
  • 37 L-30ZA/ART in commissioned from 1994 to 2021. [1]

Turkmenistan

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Turkmenistan Air Force
  • 2 aircraft.


Civil operators

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Australia

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A small number of L-39s are flown in Australia as jet flight experiences for paying public.

Austria

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[12]

Canada

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International Test Pilots School[13]

Northern Lights Aerobatics Team from Montreal used 2 L-39C in 2000, but ceased operating them and performing airshows after 2000.[14] The aircraft were registered and based in the US with Northern Lights USA of Lafayette, LA with 1 lost in crash in 2001.

France

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Breitling Jet Team

A civilian aerobatic display team based in Dijon, France; operating seven L-39 Albatros jets in the colours of their sponsor, Breitling.

TopGun Voltige

This company based in La Roche-sur-Yon operates 2 L-39 Albatros jets for touristic flights.[15]

New Zealand

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Fighter Jets NZ operate 2 L-39 from Tauranga, NZ for jet flight experiences and also do airshow displays around the country.

Soviet Union

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DOSAAF

DOSAAF paramilitary organization, tasked with the training and preparation of reserves for the Soviet armed forces, operated unknown number of L-39.

United States

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Hundreds of L-39s are finding new homes with private owners all over the world, especially in the United States.

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "World Air Forces 2021". flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 10 Jan 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ Report, Star (2012-04-09). "Training aircraft crashes". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  3. ^ "Russia increasing material potential of Central African national army by supplying fighter jets – Manuel Nguema". Daily Post. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e Aero L-39 Albatros page in Scramble magazine Archived 2006-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Martin, Guy (10 August 2022). "Mali commissions new aircraft". defenceWeb.
  6. ^ Lagneau, Laurent (9 August 2022). "Le Mali a reçu au moins quatre avions d'attaque légers L-39C Albatross, probablement livrés par la Russie". opex360.com.
  7. ^ Isby, David C.; Willis, David (December 2013). "Mozambique Rebuilding its Air Force". Air International. Vol. 85, no. 6. p. 26. ISSN 0306-5634.
  8. ^ Cooper 2022, p. VI
  9. ^ Mitzer, Stijn; Oliemans, Joost. "Taliban Air Force Commences Jet Operations". Oryx Blog. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Czech arms to be purchased - Khmer Times". 15 October 2019.
  11. ^ Binnie, Jeremy (12 September 2016). "South Sudan now flying L-39 jets". IHS Jane's 360. London. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  12. ^ "L-39 users from all over the world met in AERO Vodochody". September 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "Aircraft – ITPS Canada". Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  14. ^ "Pure Jet Experience - Wings Magazine". Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  15. ^ "TopGun Voltige".

Bibliography

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