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.
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.
Aero L-39 Albatros