During his visit to Prague on May 4, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced an agreement with the Czech Republic to establish a joint training center for Ukrainian Air Force F-16 pilots. The center will be located on Czech territory to safeguard it from russian missile threats.
Against this backdrop, Defense Express recalls that as early as May 2023, the Czech Republic — through President Petr Pavel — proposed transferring L-159 light combat jets to Ukraine or cooperating on the development of the next-generation L-259. However, no concrete steps followed. Now may be the right moment to revisit that proposal.
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On the one hand, to replace its aging Soviet-era L-39C Albatros with a new training aircraft has long been relevant for Ukraine. On the other hand, both the L-159 and the under-development L-259 are single-seat light attack aircraft that in terms of functionality occupy the niche alongside the EMB-314 Super Tucano.
Only one of them, the L-159, can be converted into a two-seat trainer/combat variant. The question is whether Ukraine can afford spending war resources on an aircraft that has a hard time in real combat.
We have previously covered the capabilities of the L-259 (also referred to as the F/A-259 Striker) in detail, as well as the characteristics of the L-159.
In short, the L-159 is the flagship of the Albatros-based aircraft family. It features seven hardpoints and can carry up to 2.4 tons of payload, including JDAM precision-guided bombs and AIM-9 air-to-air missiles. The base model is the single-seat L-159A; the two-seat L-159T is created by converting this version.
The largest current operator of L-159s is the private military company Draken International, which fields around 24 aircraft. The Czech Air Force operates 16 L-159As and eight L-159Ts, while Iraq has 10 L-159As and a single L-159T. For the Czech Republic, finding another export customer—particularly one with urgent needs like Ukraine—would be an obvious interest.
Another option not publicly discussed by the Czech side, but clearly possible, is the transfer of L-39NG trainer/light attack jets. These are currently being produced for the Czech Air Force and export customers such as Vietnam.
In the current context, Ukraine lacks the financial resources to commit to new trainer aircraft acquisitions, while the Czech Republic may not yet be ready to provide L-159T or L-39NG jets as military aid. Still, the need to modernize Ukraine’s training fleet will remain relevant in the longer term.
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