Aero Vodochody

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For the US manufacturer named Aero, see Aero (US aircraft manufacturer).
Aero Vodochody L.159A Advanced Light Combat Aircraft
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Aero Vodochody L.159A Advanced Light Combat Aircraft

Aero Vodochody (commonly referred to as Aero, (Vodochody is location) is a Czech (and Czechoslovak) aircraft company notable for producing the L-29 Delfin, L-39 Albatros and the L-159 Alca.

After the fall of socialism in Czechoslovakia (1989) and in the rest of Eastern Europe, the company lost its main market in jet trainers. The sales of military aircraft declined in the early 1990s in Eastern Europe as well as in the NATO countries where the entry of a new producer was obviously difficult. Aero collaborated several years with Boeing but this did not help it to compete on international market. Thus the Czech government bought Boeing out.

At the end of October 2006 Aero Vodochody was privatized once again. A Czech-Slovak investment group Penta bought it for roughly 3 billion CZK. The new owner vows to bring Aero back among the world's leading aircraft manufacturers.

Aero is also likely to upgrade its runway in Vodochody near Prague to a new international airport that would serve mainly the low-cost air-carriers and charter flights heading to Prague.

Pre-war Aero designs:

Post-war designs:

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