eehnie Tue May 09, 2017 11:27 pm
medo wrote: eehnie wrote: d_taddei2 wrote:Hi all, with the Russia now receving the Yak 130 and the number increasing fairly quickly, what will Russia do with its fleet of roughly 200 L-39's?????
Depending on the state of them they could be sold or given to poorer nations, or some put into reserve and the rest scrapped. I suppose they could also be used for various tests like unmanned aircraft tests, and target tests.
Whats people views on this? has anyone heard any news on this?
I think is likely that many of them go to Syria. It is a well known aircraft in the country that all pilots know to drive, and also continues being their trainer aircraft for new pilots. At same time, these aircrafts are being used for combat roles.
In Russia many L-59 trainers are used by civil aero clubs and schools. So most probably majority of them will be demilitarized and given/sold to civil users and private acrobatic teams.
Advantages for Syria and Russia of the help with L-39:
- Nominally the L-39 is a trainer aircraft, not a combat aircraft. It makes the things easier in the diplomathic side.
- This is the cheapest aircraft with some combat capability available to help. The economic balance of the help is in the side of the L-39 over every Russian combat aircraft.
- The help with L-39 allows to Russia to help to keep the Syrian Air Force working, without weaken the Russian own air power.
- It would allow to Syria to keep other more powerful aircrafts in order to rebuild its air forces in the future. In fact Syria has been doing it with the extensive use of their L-39 (for combat purposes) and MiG-21.
- Unlike other cases, Syria knows very well the aircraft as the main trainer of the country since decades.
- It would allow to Syria to relaunch their programs for formation of new pilots.
- The use of the training aircrafts in combat missions, helps to reduce the necessary training of new pilots in Syria until to have them prepared for combat missions.
- The L-39 has enough service ceiling to avoid every man-portable air defense, and heavy towed air defense artillery. If the US and/or their allies want to shut-down them out of the Syrian airfields, will need expensive missiles of heavy air-defense systems.
- It is difficult for the US (not credible) to blame the L-39s of big massacres, and as consequence the L-39 gives low room to justify bigger intervention of the US.
Disadvantages for Syria and Russia of the help with L-39:
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