Lithuania Transfers L-39ZA Albatros Aircraft To The Ukrainian Armed Forces
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense’s press service announced on April 20 that one Aero L-39ZA Albatros light attack and training aircraft had been delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the ministry’s statement, the delivery is part of the Vilnius government’s military support program to assist Ukraine in defending itself against Russian occupation.
A few photos from the L-39ZA Albatros delivery were also posted on the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense’s X account. According to the images, the plane was disassembled and transported to Ukraine by road. For security reasons, the location where this aircraft’s maintenance, repair, and assembly will take place has not been disclosed. It is likely that the procedures to be performed on the L-39 will be carried out at the Odessa Aviation Factory, which has experience in the conversion of such aircraft.
The Aero L-39ZA handed to Ukraine is the last of Lithuania’s two Albatros aircraft inherited from the Soviet Union (USSR). One of the Albatros, used as a training aircraft by the Lithuanian Air Force, crashed in August 2011 after colliding with a Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter jet belonging to the French Air Force during a flight as part of NATO’s air policing mission for the Baltic countries. Following the accident, in which neither side suffered any loss of life, the Lithuanian Air Force’s inventory of Albatros aircraft was reduced to just one. The last remaining aircraft suffered an engine failure in 2019 and was taken out of service in 2021.
The L-39ZA variant has more advanced avionics, more robust landing gear and a higher payload capacity than the basic L-39C trainer aircraft. This variant also features a 23mm double-barreled GSh-23L autocannon with a 150-round capacity mounted under the fuselage, as well as four underwing pylons for carrying light bombs and unguided rockets. Aside from these, the ZA variant has the same features as the standard L-39C.
The Ukrainian Air Force has long been familiar with and uses the L-39C Albatros, the predecessor to the L-39ZA. Before the war, Ukraine had a total of 49 L-39C aircraft for pilot training. However, it is unknown how many of these aircraft were lost during the conflict. In addition, it is unclear whether Ukraine will use the L-39ZA aircraft it received from Lithuania for pilot training or light attack missions.