A delegation from the Czech Republic, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babis, visited three countries at the end of April this year, where they discussed defense cooperation, among other things. These are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and two of these countries were offered the supply of the latest L-39NG Skyfox combat training aircraft manufactured by the Czech company Aero Vodochody.
Read more: Czech Maker Offers Ukraine L-39NG After Government Blocks L-159 Sale, But Who Pays for New Jets?
As Armádní Noviny reported, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has made an official offer to supply Azerbaijan with an unspecified number of L-39NG Skyfox combat training aircraft. It is known that the supply of these aircraft in a reconnaissance configuration is also proposed, as was the case in the contract with Hungary (the agreement provided for the supply of 12 aircraft, four of which were in the reconnaissance version).
It is also proposed to supply this aircraft in the "Shahed hunter" configuration - the anti-drone version of the L-39NG Skyfox was first presented by Aero Vodochody at the Dubai Air Show last fall. Recall that it is equipped with FZ275 LGR missiles (an analogue of APKWS) and two 12.7 mm machine guns.
Azerbaijan already has experience in active operation in 1980s-1990s of Czech-made L-29 Delfín and L-39C Albatros aircraft. Today, the Azerbaijani Air Force has up to 14 L-39C Albatros aircraft. The Czech Republic proposes to modernize them to the CW version, which is close in characteristics to the Skyfox, in particular, it is about replacing the engine with a Williams FJ44-4M.
It is also known that in addition to Azerbaijan, Andrey Babis also made a corresponding offer for L-39NG Skyfox aircraft to the President of Kazakhstan Tokayev, to whom he offered the supply of 12 training aircraft without specifying which modifications. It is known that a possible agreement with Kazakhstan for these aircraft was discussed during the tenure of the previous Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
Finally, the publication emphasizes that the potential for the supply of L-39NG Skyfox also exists for Uzbekistan, however, in this case it is not reported whether an offer for L-39NG Skyfox aircraft was made to this country this time.
In any case, there are now three potential candidates for the L-39NG Skyfox, and for Ukraine this issue is interesting in the context of how this may affect the possible supplies of these aircraft to the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Earlier this year, in the context of the Czech Republic's refusal to supply the L-159 for political reasons, Aero Vodochody offered to supply Ukraine with the L-39NG Skyfox, and if necessary, they promised to manufacture the first aircraft as early as early 2027.
However, if the aircraft were offered for Ukraine by representatives of the manufacturing company, then for Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan the offer was made at the level of the country's prime minister, who has a very ambiguous attitude towards Ukraine and may advocate for the priority of supplying aircraft to other customers.
At the same time, the supply of L-39NG Skyfox aircraft to Ukraine, Azerbaijan or other countries has not been confirmed by any firm agreements, but if Ukraine really wants to strengthen itself with these aircraft, the window of opportunity to do this as soon as possible has now narrowed - given the Czech Republic's intensified plans to sell aircraft to at least two, or even three more countries.
Read more: Could L-39NG Skyfox Be Ukraine's Counter-Drone Aircraft? Delivery Timeframes and Price
