Vietnam People ' s Air Force The Vietnam People ' s Air Force ( ) is the air force of Vietnam . It is the successor of the former North Vietnam ese Air Force and the absorbed Republic of Vietnam Air Force following the re - unification of Vietnam in 1975 . The Vietnam People ' s Air Force ( VPAF ) is one of three main branches in the Vietnam People ' s Army which is a part of the Ministry of Defence . The main mission of the VPAF is the defence the Vietnamese airspace and the provision of air cover for operations of the Vietnam People ' s Army . History . Beginning - 1964 ( North Vietnam ) . The first aircraft in service for the Vietnamese Armed Forces were two trainers , a de Havilland Tiger Moth and a Morane - Saulnier , which were initially the private property of the emperor Bảo Đại . In 1945 , Bảo Đại gave the aircraft to the Vietnamese government . Until 1950 , even though the Vietnam People ' s Army ( VPA ) had acquired credible offensive capabilities on the ground , it was almost powerless against reconnaissance or attacking operations from the French Expeditionary Air Force . On March 9 , 1949 , General Vo Nguyen Giap was authorized to establish " the Air Force Research Committee ( Ban Nghiên cứu Không quân ) " under the General Staff to study ways to deal with the air war . The first Vietnamese service aircraft flight was made by the Tiger Moth on August 15 , 1949 . A small - scale training was carried out in the following years . Further development of aviation in North Vietnam began in 1956 , when a number of trainees were sent to the USSR and China for pilot training . They were organized into two groups , for pilots and mechanics , respectively ; and among others , utilized the Czechoslovak Zlín Z - 226 and Aero Ae - 45 . The first unit of the VPAF was the No . 919 Transport Regiment ( " Trung đoàn Không quân Vận tải 919 " ) , organized on May 1 , 1959 , with An - 2 , Li - 2 , Il - 14 aircraft , followed by the No . 910 Training Regiment ( " Trung đoàn Không quân 910 " ) with Yak - 18 trainers . In 1963 the Air Force and Air Defense Force were merged into the Air and Air Defence Force ( " Quân chủng Phòng không - Không quân " ) . 1964 – 74 ( North Vietnam ) . The first North Vietnamese combat plane was a T - 28 Trojan trainer , whose pilot defected from the Royal Lao Air Force ; it was utilized from early 1964 by the North Vietnamese as a night fighter . The T - 28 was the first North Vietnamese aircraft to shoot down a U . S . aircraft , a C - 123 , on February 15 , 1964 . The North Vietnamese Air Force ( NVAF ) received its first jet fighter aircraft , the MiG - 17 in February 1964 , but they were initially stationed at air bases on Mainland China , while their pilots were being trained . On February 3 , 1964 , the first fighter regiment No . 921 ( " Trung đoàn Không quân Tiêm kích 921 " ) , aka " Red Star squadron " , was formed , and on August 6 it arrived from China in North Vietnam with its MiG - 17s . On September 7 , the No . 923 fighter regiment , aka " Yen The Squadron " , led by Lt . Col . Nguyen Phuc Trach , was formed . In May 1965 , No . 16 bomber company ( " Đại đội Không quân Ném bom 16 " ) was formed with Il - 28 twin engine bombers . Only one Il - 28 sortie was flown in 1972 against Royal Laotian forces . The North Vietnamese Air Force ' s first jet air - to - air engagement with U . S . aircraft was on April 3 , 1965 . The NVAF claimed the shooting down of two US Navy F - 8 Crusader , which was not confirmed by US sources , although they acknowledged having encountered MiGs . Consequently , April 3 became " North Vietnamese Air Force Day " . On April 4 the VPAF ( NVAF ) scored the first confirmed victories to be acknowledged by both sides . The US fighter community was shocked when relatively slow , post - Korean era MiG - 17 fighters shot down advanced F - 105 Thunderchief fighters - bombers attacking the Thanh Hóa Bridge . The two downed F - 105s were carrying their normal heavy bomb load , and were not able to react to their attackers . In 1965 , the NVAF were supplied with supersonic MiG - 21 s by the USSR which were used for high speed GCI controlled hit and run intercepts against American air strike groups . The MiG - 21 tactics became so effective , that by late 1966 , an operation was mounted to especially deal with the MiG - 21 threat . Led by Colonel Robin Olds on 2 January 1967 , Operation Bolo lured MiG - 21s into the air , thinking they were intercepting a F - 105 strike group , but instead found a sky full of missile armed F - 4 Phantom II s set for aerial combat . The result was a loss of almost half the inventory of MiG - 21 interceptors , at a cost of no U . S . losses . The VPAF ( NVAF ) stood down for additional training after this setback . Meanwhile , the disappointing performances of US Air Force and US Navy ( USN ) airmen , even though flying the contemporary advanced aircraft of those times , combined with a legacy of successes from World War II and the Korean War , resulted in a total revamping of aerial combat training for the USN in 1968 ( Top Gun school ; established 1969 ) . The designs for an entire generation of aircraft , with engineering for optimized daylight air to air combat ( dog fighting ) against both older , as well as for emerging MiG fighters , were being put to the drawing board . US forces could not consistently track low flying MiGs on radar , and were hampered by restrictive rules of engagement ( ROE ) which required pilots to visually acquire their targets , nullifying much of the advantage of radar guided missiles , which often proved unreliable when used in combat . The VPAF ( NVAF ) was a defensive air arm , with the primary mission of defending North Vietnam , and until the last stages of the war , did not conduct air operations into South Vietnam ; nor did the NVAF conduct general offensive actions against enemy naval forces off the coast . However it did conduct limited attacks on the opposing naval vessels , notably damaging the United States destroyer in 1972 . In a separate incident , MiG - 17s that ventured over water were shot down by surface - to - air missile s ( SAMs ) fired by U . S . warships . The VPAF ( NVAF ) did not engage all US sorties . Most US aircraft were destroyed by SA - 2 surface - to - air missiles or anti - aircraft artillery ( AAA ) , and in some cases , even small arms . Typically , VPAF MiGs would not engage unless it was to their advantage . Some of the aerial tactics used were similar to Operation Bolo , which lured the NVAF to the fight . On March 24 , 1967 , regiments Nos . 921 , 923 and 919 were incorporated into the 371st Air Division " Thăng Long " ( " Sư đoàn Không quân 371 " ) . In 1969 , No . 925 fighter regiment was formed , flying the Shenyang J - 6 ( the Chinese - built MiG - 19 ) . In 1972 the fourth fighter regiment , No . 927 " Lam Son " , was formed . U . S . Navy ace Randy Cunningham believed that he shot down a Mig - 17 piloted by the mythical " Nguyen Toon " or " Colonel Tomb " while flying his F4 Phantom . However , no research has been able to identify Col . Tomb ' s existence ; Cunningham most likely downed a flight leader of the 923rd Regiment . Legend states Col . Toon downed 13 US aircraft during his tenure . Many North Vietnamese pilots were not only skilled but unorthodox , as Cunningham found out after making elementary tactical errors . The resulting dogfight became extended . Cunningham climbed steeply , and the MiG pilot surprised Cunningham by climbing as well . Using his Top Gun training , Cunningham finally forced the MiG out ahead of him and destroyed it . In fact , there wasn ' t any pilot in VPAF named Nguyễn Toon , he was a fictional character of the American pilots and they often made jokes with the dissertation . As a goodwill of the American pilots , Colonel Toon was a combination of good pilots in Vietnam , like the " solo artist " lonely night bombing in World War II was called Washing Machine Charlie . There were several times during the war that the U . S . bombing restrictions of North Vietnamese Airfields were lifted . Many VPAF ( NVAF ) aircraft were destroyed on the ground , and those that were not , were withdrawn to a sanctuary in China . In December 1972 , the North Vietnamese air defences nearly exhausted their supply of surface - to - air missiles trying to down the high - flying B - 52 raids over the North . The North Vietnamese Air Defense Network was degraded by electronic countermeasure s ( ECM ) and other suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ( SEAD ) measures . Though the North Vietnamese forces claim over 81 US aircraft as shot down during Operation Linebacker II , ( including 34 B - 52 s , two attributed to the VPAF ) , most sources acknowledge only 27 aircraft lost by the Americans . After the negotiated end of American involvement in early 1973 , the No . 919 transport air group ( " Lữ đoàn Không quân vận tải 919 " ) , was formed ; and equipped with fix - winged aircraft , as well as helicopters ( rotor - wing ) in November . During the 1975 Spring Offensive , the bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base , the only airstrike conducted by the VPAF , occurred on April 28 , 1975 , just two days before the Fall of Saigon . The operation was carried out by the VPAF ' s Quyet Thang Squadron , using captured A - 37s aircraft flown by hero pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung who had bombed the Presidential Palace in Saigon , less than one month earlier before defecting to the north . During the Vietnam War , NVAF used the MiG - 17F , PF ( J - 5 ) ; MiG - 19 ( J - 6 ) , MiG - 21F - 13 , PF , PFM and MF fighters . They claimed to have shot down 266 US aircraft , and US claimed to have shot down or destroyed 204 MiGs aircraft and at least six An - 2 s , of which 196 were confirmed with solid evidence ( 100 MiG - 17 s , 10 MiG - 19 s and 86 MiG - 21 s ) . However , VPAF admits only 154 MiGs were lost through all causes , including 131 in air combat ) . Like that , total kill ratio would be 1 : 1 . 3 to 1 : 2 . With the number of losses to MiGs confirmed by US ( 121 aircraft shotdown and 7 damaged ) , the kill ratio turn 1 . 7 : 1 against the MiGs , or 1 . 1 : 1 even accepting the VPAF ' s figure of only 131 in air combat . 1975 – present ( reunified Vietnam ) . The VPAF did not play a major role during the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975 . The only sorties flown were conducted by five captured VNAF A - 37 s . SA - 2 s were transported into South Vietnam to counter possible US military air strikes . The US could not bring back their air power during the 1975 offensive , which had proven decisive in 1972 , and the VNAF did not have the capability to strike targets in the north nor to defend against the onslaught in the south . After the end of the Vietnam War ( called the American War in Vietnam ) in May 1975 , more regiments were formed . No . 935 fighter regiment " Đồng Nai " and no . 937 fighter - bomber regiment " Hậu Giang " , followed by no . 918 transport regiment " Hong Ha " and no . 917 mixed transport regiment " Đồng Tháp " were created in July 1975 . In September 1975 , the four newly created regiments were formed into the 370nd Air Division " Lê Lợi " and the 372nd Air Division " Hai Van " was formed , including among others the 925th fighter regiment . On May 31 , 1977 , the Vietnam People ' s Air Force ( " Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam " ) was separated from the Air Defense Force ( " Quân chủng Phòng không " ) . When Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979 , former VNAF A - 37s flew most of the ground support missions . These aircraft were more suited to the role than the MiGs . Former VNAF F - 5E s , C - 123 s , C - 130 s , and UH - 1 s were used by the VPAF for many years after the end of the War . In the years between 1953 and 1991 , approximately 700 warplanes , 120 helicopters , and 158 missile complexes have been supplied to North Vietnam by the USSR and PR China ( primarily the MiG - 19 ( J6 series ) . Even today , three - quarters of Vietnamese weaponry has been made in post - Cold - War Russia . Today the VPAF is in the midst of modernization . It still operates late model MiG - 21 s , Su - 22 s , aircraft of the Cold War era . However , it has recently been modernizing its air force with models of the Su - 27 - SK air superiority fighter following closer military ties , and an array of arms deals with Russia . To date , Vietnam has ordered and received 12 of these aircraft . In 2004 , it also acquired 4 modified variants of the Su - 30 MK2V , newer models of the Su - 27 . In May 2009 , they have inked a deal to procure additional 12 aircraft from the Russian to bolster their aging fleet . The Vietnamese air force has also acquired new advanced air defense systems , including two S - 300 PMU1 ( NATO designation : SA - 20 ) short - to - high altitude SAM batteries in a deal worth $ 300 million with Russia . A twin - engine light transport aircraft of the 918th Transport Regiment crashed into a field on the outskirts of the capital Hanoi ( Thanh Tri District ) on Tuesday morning 8 April 2008 during a training mission , killing five Vietnamese military pilots . The plane took off from Gia Lam Airport in Hanoi , Northern Vietnam , with five officers aboard for a training exercise . It crashed on its way back to the airport . Fighter Pilots Aces . In Vietnam War , many Vietnamese pilots had notable achievements , and were honored in The Fighter Pilots Aces list of the world . About the other pilots , see Safarik ' s comprehensive list . Organizational structure . Air Force and Air Defense Divisions . Air Division and Regimental Names of the VPAF Recent base information is from the Vietnamese Wikipedia VPAF article . Bases . Some airbases in the south were built by the French , Japanese * ( World War II ) , United States Air Force or United States Navy for South Vietnam . The northern bases were likely built with assistance and / or use by the French , China or Soviet Union during the Vietnam War . Air Force Museum . There are two Air Force museums in Vietnam : Vietnam People ' s Air Force Museum , Hanoi and Vietnam People ' s Air Force Museum , Ho Chi Minh City . Aircraft inventory . Most of the VPAF ' s aircraft were supplied from the Soviet Union and PRC , but hundreds were left over by the United States via the Republic of Vietnam , most of which are no longer in service . Missiles . " Retired : " Some jet fighters ( F - 5s and A - 37s ) were auctioned in 1998 , and are currently owned by private companies , and individuals in America , Australia , New Zealand , and Europe . The current procurement plan of the VPAF is to equip up to 3 regiments with 3 x 24 Sukhoi Su - 30 " Flanker " until 2015 . VPAF also intends to upgrade its air defense system with more effective missile system such as Buk missile system or Tor missile system . Vietnam may be the third customer to buy the S - 400 Triumf missile system around 2017 References . Published Government Documents Secondary Sources