Czech Republic's refusal to transfer and even sell L-159 light combat aircraft to Ukraine shook the news space. However, their manufacturer, Aero Vodochody, plans to offer Ukrainian military its new L-39NG Skyfox.
As Radio Prague reports, the company states that the alternative will be cheaper to operate and at the same time can be used for a wide range of tasks. This concerns personnel training, ground strike missions and drone hunting.
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Yes, the official reason for refusal to supply L-159 to Ukraine was their insufficient quantity in service with Czech Republic itself. And these aircraft cannot be reordered, because they are no longer produced due to lack of necessary component production.
Defense Express notes that this turns out to be a potentially very profitable deal for Aero Vodochody. After all, Ukrainian aviation needs not only drone hunters, but also a potential replacement for the fleet of old L-39 Albatros trainers, as Czech Republic itself is doing.
Also, only in November 2025 at the Dubai Airshow, the company presented the L-39NG in a light anti-drone fighter variant. This includes 12.7mm machine guns and 70mm FZ275 LGR laser-guided rockets, which are a European analogue of APKWS.
So, the potential proposal will be able to immediately close the niche of both countering UAVs with modern means and pilot training, because the L-39NG is certified even for F-35 training. However, everything is not so simple, because this concerns manufacturing aircraft from scratch, which need to be waited for. For example, Hungary waited as long as three years for its first three.
Also, a big problem is ordering the aircraft itself, because it will need to be paid for somehow. And although the amount may not be that large, because for Ghana in 2024, 6 aircraft cost $132 million, it's very doubtful that Ukraine currently has free funds for such a purchase.
Theoretically, the contract could be financed by European countries separately, or through some EU initiative. However, here remains the question of export permission from the Czech government, which has a rather negative attitude toward providing military aid to Ukraine.
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