Vietnam completes acquisition of L-39 Skyfox trainers

Vietnam ordered 12 new Aero Vodochody L-39 Skyfox trainer and light attack aircraft in 2021. (Aero Vodochody)

The Czech manufacturer, Aero Vodochody, has said that it has completed delivery of Vietnam's order of 12 L-39 Skyfox trainer and light attack aircraft.

In a statement on 6 March, Aero Vodochody said that alongside its co-owner, Omnipol, it completed the delivery of the final batch of six new-generation L-39s to the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF). The company, however, did not specify when the delivery was completed.

Vietnam ordered 12 aircraft in 2021, with the first batch of L-39 Skyfoxes delivered to the VPAF in 2023. The VPAF had a total of six Skyfoxes in service by August 2024.

According to Aero Vodochody, the VPAF's “long-standing experience” with older L-39C Albatros trainers that were inducted from 1980 is assisting the air force's transition to the L-39 Skyfox.

VFAP pilots are being “helped to do so by, for example, ground-based pilot training facilities, a computer-assisted learning system, the cabin procedures simulator, and the full mission simulator”, the company said in a statement in February 2025.

“The retraining of Vietnamese pilots on the L-39 Skyfox, including instructor training, began with training the first group of pilots for approximately 250 flight hours and 350 sorties,” the company added.

The L-39 Skyfox is equipped with a full-glass cockpit with two large displays, a transparent display, and the hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) system. According to Aero Vodochody, its Virtual Training System (VTS) also gives the VPAF the ability to simulate “complex combat scenarios without the need for an additional aircraft in the air”.