Aero Vodochody is a company that builds the L-39NG Skyfox jet trainer.[1] Aircraft of this type are used, among others, by the Air Training Centre in Pardubice of the state enterprise LOM Praha for basic and advanced training of Czech and foreign pilots. They replace the older L-39C Albatros there.[1]
According to company spokesman Lukáš Hora, the firm is developing the L-39 Skyfox Drone Hunter concept in cooperation with Thales Belgium. Aero Vodochody and Thales Belgium have signed a memorandum under which they will continue to integrate and test guided 70-millimetre rockets for the counter-drone variant of the aircraft. [3] Justin Bronk, an analyst at the British institute RUSI, proposed in his analysis that NATO create a multinational squadron against attack drones, and named the L-39NG Skyfox among suitable platforms.[1][2] The squadron proposed by Bronk would have roughly 16 to 24 aircraft, whose crews would devote themselves exclusively to intercepting one-way attack drones, and parts of it could operate, for example, in Poland, Romania or the Baltic countries. [4]
The type originally emerged under the designation L-39NG, has carried the name Skyfox since October 2024, and the first production aircraft first flew on 21 April 2023. [3]
The company presented the Drone Hunter configuration on 19 September 2026 at the NATO Days in Ostrava, where the aircraft carried two rocket pods with fourteen rockets and a Phoenix 10 targeting pod. [3]
FZ275 rockets, which have semi-active laser guidance and a range of roughly 1.5 to 7 kilometres, are planned for the counter-drone version. [3]
According to Lukáš Hora, a flight hour of the Skyfox costs 1,500 euros, for F-16 and Gripen aircraft 30,000 to 40,000 euros and for the F-35 50,000 to 80,000 euros. [5]
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny
- Seznam Zprávy
- Ekonomický deník — 9 October 2026
- E15 — 25 September 2026
- Novinky.cz — 4 October 2026