List of equipment of the Vietnam People's Air Force

Since the Vietnam War, most Vietnamese aircraft were supplied by the Soviet Union and later Russia, while hundreds of others were left by the United States via South Vietnam. Most of these are no longer in service either due to the unavailability of parts or the age of the aircraft. Aircraft losses of the Vietnam War.

Aircraft

Combat Aircraft

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	Sukhoi Su-22	Fighter-bomber	Su-22UM3K Su-22M4	32 [1]	Soviet Union	1 unit crashed in 2024. [2]
	Sukhoi Su-27	Fighter	Su-27SK Su-27UBK	8 [3] 3 [3]	Russia   Vietnam	The Su-27UBKs provide conversion training. Overhaul done at A32 Factory.
	Sukhoi Su-30	Multirole	Su-30MK2 (Su-30MK2V)	35 [3]	Russia   Vietnam	Significant advancements made in the capabilities of maintenance. Able to manufacture critical components and extend the lifespan of the aircraft by 1500 hours or ~15 years. Overhaul done at A32 Factory.

Transport

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	CASA C-295	Transport	C-295M	3 [1]	Spain
	CASA C-212	Transport	NC-212i	3 [1]	Indonesia

Helicopter

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	Mil Mi-8	Utility	Mi-8T	87 [1]	Soviet Union	[3]
	Mil Mi-17	Utility	Mi-171 Mi-172		Russia
	Kamov Ka-27	ASW helicopter	Ka-28 Ka-32	8 [4] 1 [4]	Soviet Union	Serve in frigates and patrol vessels around Spratly Islands.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	HS-6L	MALE UVA			Belarus   Vietnam	Jointly developed by Vietnam's Academy of Science and Technology with Belarus; completed in 2015 around. November/December. [5] Specification: Wingspan: 22m Endurance: 35 hours Range: 4,000 km (claimed)
	IAI Heron	MALE UVA		3 [6]	Israel
	Orbiter 2	Reconnaissance			Israel	Acquired from Israel. [7]
	Insitu ScanEagle	Reconnaissance		6 [6] [8]	United States
	VT-Patrol	Reconnaissance	VT-Pigeon VT-Swift		Vietnam	The VT-Swift is a license produced variant of the Orbiter 3 from Israel.
	UAV Shikra	Reconnaissance			Vietnam	May be in active service. Produced and developed by Viettel.

Trainer

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	Yakovlev Yak-52	Trainer aircraft		36 [9]	Soviet Union
	Beechcraft T-6 Texan II	Trainer aircraft	T-6C Texan II	(+12)	United States	12 T-6C Texan II on order. Expected to be delivered from 2024-2027. [10] [11]
	Aero L-39 Albatros	Jet trainer	L-39C L-39NG	24 [1] 12	Czechslovakia   Czech Republic	An unidentified number out of the 12 has been delivered as of early 2024. [12]
	Yakovlev Yak-130	Jet trainer		11 [13]	Russia	In Service. 1 crash in November of 2024.

Air Defense System

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
Surface-to-Air Defense System
	S-300PMU1	Long range air defense and anti-ballistic missile system.	S-300PMU1	12 launchers	Russia   Vietnam	Two systems were acquired. [14] Received domestic upgrade to the command center and range of the missile.
	SPYDER-MR	Short to medium range air defense system.		30 launchers	Israel	Five systems (including 6 launchers each) and 750 missiles ordered. [15]
	S-75 Dvina	Short to medium range air defense system in modern standards.	S-75M3	~25 launchers	Soviet Union	45 km range.
	S-125 Neva/Pechora	Short to medium range air defense system.	S-125TM Pechora-2TM S-125M Pechora-M S-125-VT	51 launchers	Soviet Union   Vietnam	30 S-125TM Pechora-2TM and 21 S-125M Pechora-M batteries as of 2024. [16] The S-125-VT modernized variant was reported to be in service in July 2024. [17] Range: ~35 km
	9K35 Strela-10	Short range air defense system.		20 launchers	Soviet Union	Tracked air defense system.
Anti-air Artillery
	ZSU-23-4 Shilka	Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun	ZSU-23-4M		Soviet Union   Vietnam	Modernization upgrade includes 4 Igla SAM launchers, digital fire-control system, thermal camera, day-night camera, laser range finder, electro-optic vision, improved weapon radar, replaced mechanical transmission with hydrostatic transmission, added hydraulic boosters, and significant speed improvement to turret traversal. There are more additions.
	ZU-23-2	Twin Autocannon	23mm-2M 23mm-2ML		Soviet Union   Israel   Vietnam	The 23mm-2M variant upgrade included cabin for gunner, electromechanic turn system, modern control systems, and potentially a ballistic computer and fire-control system. This project was jointly carried out by Israel and Vietnam. Similar to the 23mm-2M, the 23mm-2ML additionally includes optronics sensor, laser rangefinder, and potentially a digital fire-control system Further modernization projects includes installing the platform on logistic trucks and adding an automatic control system that's being developed.
	AZP S-60	Autocannon			Soviet Union   Vietnam	57 mm automatic anti-air autocannon. The Vietnamese heavily upgraded the AZP S-60 by equipping it with a fire-control system with radar, optoelectronic reconnaissance equipment, an electromechanical gun control complex, and a digital firing element identification system connected to a computer. The upgraded AZP S-60 can operate without a gunner, is fully automatic, and no longer needs to be manually reloaded. [18]
	61-K	Autocannon			Soviet Union   Vietnam	37 mm automatic anti-air autocannon. Modernized with a fire-control system.

Munition

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
Air-to-air Missile
	K-13 (AA-2)	Air-to-air missile		2,550	Soviet Union	1000 R-3S, 800 R-3R, and 750 R-13M missiles. [19]
	R-60 (AA-8)	Air-to-air missile		400	Soviet Union	[19]
	R-27 (AA-10)	Air-to-air missile		320	Russia   Ukraine	[20] [21]
	R-73 (AA-11)	Air-to-air missile	R-73E	375	Russia	Short range missiles. [19]
	R-77 (AA-12)	Air-to-air missile	RVV-AE		Russia	[22]
Air-to-surface Missile
	Kh-59 (AS-13)	Air-to-surface missile		200	Russia	[19]
	Kh-29 (AS-14)	Air-to-surface missile		100	Russia	[19]
	Kh-31 (AS-17)	Air-to-surface missile	Kh-31A Kh-31P	100	Russia	[19]

Former

Combat Aircraft

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	Shenyang J-5	Fighter		10	China	The Vietnamese Air Force used J-5s alongside the Soviet supplied MiG-17s for interception missions until the 1990s when they were retired, along with the remaining MiG-19s, being replaced with newer MiG-21s and Su-27s.
	Shenyang J-6	Fighter		30	China
	MiG-17 Fresco	Fighter	MiG17A MiG17P MiG17PF	367	Soviet Union
	MiG-19 Farmer	Fighter		~45	Soviet Union
	MiG-21 Fishbed	Fighter	MiG-21bis MiG-21UM MiG-21PF MiG-21PFM MiG-21MF MiG-21F-13	645	Soviet Union	Retired from service in November 2015. [23] Replaced with Su-22. The MiG-21 fleet has reserved in storage and some frames are still capable of flying. There are plans to turn these retired aircraft into UAVs.
	Northrop F-5	Light ground-attack	F-5A F-5E	191	United States	Captured during Vietnam War.
	Cessna A-37 Dragonfly	Light ground-attack	A-37A A-37B	254	United States	Captured during Vietnam War.

Maritime patrol

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	PZL M28	Maritime patrol	M28B-1R [3]	1 [1]	Poland	Inactive.

Transport

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	Antonov An-2	Transport			Soviet Union
	Antonov An-26	Transport		48	Soviet Union
	Beriev Be-12	Transport		6	Soviet Union	[24]
	Lockheed C-130 Hercules	Transport		34	United States	Captured during Vietnam War.
	Fairchild C-119	Transport			United States	Captured during Vietnam War.

Helicopter

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	Mi-4	Transport			Soviet Union
	Mi-6 Hook	Transport	Mil Mi-6	26	Soviet Union
	CH-47 Chinook	Transport	CH-47A		United States	Captured during Vietnam War.
	UH-1 Iroquois	Utility			United States	Captured during Vietnam War.

Trainer

Image	Model	Type	Variant	Quantity	Origin	Notes
	MiG-15 Fagot	Trainer			Soviet Union	60
	Aero L-29	Trainer			Czechoslovakia

See Also

• Vietnam People's Air Force
• List of equipment of the Vietnam People's Ground Forces
• List of equipment of the Vietnam People's Navy
• Vietnam Coast Guard
• Vietnam People's Public Security

References

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3. "Peace Research Institute". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
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