PRAGUE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The maiden flight of the first of three L-159 T2 aircraft ordered by the Czech Army took place on Aug. 2 at Vodochody Airport, Czech leading aircraft producer Aero Vodochody said Friday in a statement.
The company's spokesman Tobias Tvrdik confirmed that the Czech Air Force expects to receive all three L-159 T2 two-seaters by the end of this year.
Two-seat L-159 T2 aircraft is derived from its single-seat version of L-159. In production, L-159 T2 is converted from stored L-159 airframes, so the two-seater has got a new central part of the fuselage, with wings and tail section from the original aircraft.
Compared to the original L-159, the new two-seater has a number of advantages, such as, more advanced technologies for training pilots, night vision systems, and new large-scale multifunction displays in both pilot cabs.
The Army of the Czech Republic will have a total of 24 L-159 aircrafts, eight of which will be two-seaters. At present, the army operates 21 of those airplanes.
"Aero [Vodochody] has reached its another important milestone. Thanks to cooperation with our national customer, the L-159-program has received new improvements," said Aero Vodochody CEO Giuseppe Giordo.
Aero Vodochody is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the Czech Republic. It deals with the development, production, sale and servicing of military and civil aviation equipment.
The company is also involved in the development and production of wings of small transport aircraft type Bombardier CSeries, as well components for the KC-390 Embraer military aircraft. Aero Vodochody supplies cockpits for UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters too.
