L-39NG Skyfox Jets Could Give Ukraine a Critical New Russian Drone Hunting Capability
13th November 2026
The Czech Republic could supply Ukraine with up to 16 Aero L-39NG Skyfox aircraft, potentially giving Kyiv another option for countering Russia’s Shahed-type attack drones. The proposal includes four aircraft previously agreed to for transfer and 12 more that Czech officials are now discussing with their Ukrainian counterparts.
Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlí?ek raised the expanded arrangement during a visit to Kyiv yesterday, where he met Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi. Havlí?ek described the discussions as encouraging but did not announce a finalized agreement for the additional aircraft.
Skyfox is based on the Cold War-era Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainer, a rugged and reliable Soviet aircraft that was produced in the thousands and served all over the globe. The new L-39NG was reworked and modernized in the 2010s in an effort to recapture jet trainer market share that had waned as the Soviet design was increasingly passed over for more modern alternatives. Many L-39s are also flown privately in the United States and are used for contracted air support services for the U.S. military. One of the firms that uses them, Draken International, actually assisted in the L-39NG project and acted as a U.S. anchor for the program.