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Showing posts with the label Vietnamese Air Force

A Coming Shift in Vietnamese Military Aviation? ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Robert Farley)

Euro Fighter Typhoon ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Gordon Zammit) Source- The Diplomat Author- Robert Farley If Vietnam buys the Gripen, Typhoon, or Rafale, what exactly will it be getting? As several other writers have noted, the acquisition of Western aircraft (most likely the Gripen, Rafale, or Typhoon) would represent a huge shift in Vietnam’s defense trajectory. Vietnam hasn’t flown a Western warplane since the Vietnamese People’s Army overran Saigon, capturing 41 F-5 Tigers in the process. The Tigers that didn’t end up in the Soviet Union or the Eastern Bloc were soon grounded for lack of spares. To be sure, Vietnam has experience with modern jet fighters, currently flying a few dozen advanced Flanker variants purchased from Russia. These aircraft are far more capable than the older MiG-21s that make up the bulk of the Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF), but they remain Soviet kit. Any European aircraft will require what amounts to a revolution in maint