Aero
restarts L-159 ALCA production, touts Argentina as potential customer
Alan
Warnes, Prague -
IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
04 April 2017
The first
L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA) to be built for 13 years made its
public debut on 31 March. Production of the jet, at Prague-based Aero
Vodochody, ceased in 2004 after the last of 72 L-159s was delivered to the
Czech Air Force.
In a ceremony
attended by Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka, Aero Vodochody CEO Giuseppe
Giordio said the company was now ready to start production. "We know there
is a relevant market and we know the L-159 is the only aircraft currently on
the market proven in various types of [combat] missions."
The new
dual-seat L-159T1 showcased at the ceremony was officially handed over to the
Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) on 31 December, but its national colours and serial were
covered at the ceremony as the company was keen not to identify the operator.
One major improvement is the use of wet-wings (fuel in the wings), which will
improve the aircraft's range. It is one of two dual-seaters being used to train
IqAF pilots that will be delivered later this year.
During the
ceremony it was announced by the Czech Republic's deputy minister of trade and
industry, Jiri Havlícek, that Argentina was a new prospect for the L-159. Asked
about on Argentina, Giordio said, "We are discussing with Argentina the
possibility of supplying new L-159s with updated avionics systems, updated
version of Williams FJ-44 engine, and new weapons capability. From an
industrial perspective we need to co-operate with FAdeA [Fabrica Argentina de
Aviones] but could set up an assembly line if they wanted to purchase
enough."
Aero
Vodochody is also been working on an upgraded trainer version, labelled the
L-159T1+, with new night-vision goggle compatible systems and more importantly
a Grifo radar. The first aircraft was on display too, in primer, with all the
new systems on board.
Original
post: janes.com
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