page_title: Aero L-39 Albatros
section_title: Russia
hierarchical_section_title: Aero L-39 Albatros / Operational history / Russia
caption_attribution_description: English: Rus aerobatic Aero L-39s demonstration at 2015 MAKS Deutsch: Aero L-39 Jets der РУСЬ (dt.:&#160;Russland) Fluggruppe der russischen DOSAAF am 28. August 2015 bei einer Vorführung während der MAKS.
context_page_description: The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer developed in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody. It was designed during the 1960s as a replacement for the Aero L-29 Delfín as a principal training aircraft. It was the first trainer aircraft to be equipped with a turbofan powerplant. The type was exported to a wide range of countries as a military trainer.
  The L-39 Albatros later served as the basis for the updated L-59 Super Albatros, as well as the L-139. A further development of the design, designated as the L-159 ALCA, entered production in 1997. To date, more than 2,800 L-39s have served with over 30 air forces around the world. The Albatros is the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flown combat missions in a light-attack role. The design never received a NATO reporting name.
  At the Farnborough Airshow in July 2014, Aero Vodochody announced the launch of the L-39NG, an upgraded and modernised version of the L-39.
context_section_description: Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Russian Air Force in 1991, the newly formed service found itself with hundreds of L-39 aircraft, the majority of which were surplus to their training requirements. According to author Stephan Wilkinson, by 2005, Russia was seeking to potentially sell up to 800 of their L-39s, which were receiving only a basic level of maintenance once per month while their fate was being decided. Starting in the early 1990s, the Russian Air Force has pursued the development of a domestically-built jet trainer, for which the Yakovlev Yak-130 was selected; the Yak-130 shall eventually replace the L-39 in Russian service within its operational roles.
caption: Pair of L-39s performing an aerobatic demonstration at the 2015 MAKS air show
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