Vietnamese People's Air Force

Vietnam People's Air Force Không Quân Nhân Dân Việt Nam
Vietnam People's Air Force emblem
Active	1959 – present
Country	Vietnam
Allegiance	Communist Party of Vietnam
Type	Aerial defence force
Size	35,000 personnel (2009) 283 active aircraft
Part of	Vietnam People's Army
Colours	Azure, Dark Green
Anniversaries	22 October 1963
Engagements	First Indochina War Vietnam War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War
Decorations
Battle honours	Operation Linebacker Operation Linebacker II The 1975 Spring Offensive
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	Trần Đại Quang
Commander	Lieutenant General Lê Huy Vịnh
Political Commissar	Major General Nguyễn Văn Thanh
Chief of Staff	Major General Nguyễn Văn Thọ
Insignia
Ensign
Roundel
Wings
Awards
Aircraft flown
Attack	Su-22,
Fighter	Su-30, Su-27
Helicopter	Ka-32, Mi-24, UH-1, Mi-8, Mi-17
Trainer	Yak-52, L-39
Transport	An-26, CASA C295

The Vietnam People's Air Force (Vietnamese: Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam) is the air force of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force and absorbed the 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 of Vietnamese airspace and the provision of air cover for operations of the Vietnam People's Army.

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 9 March 1949, General Vo Nguyen Giap was authorised 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 15 August 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 organised into two groups, for pilots and mechanics, respectively; and among others, utilised 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), organised on 1 May 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 Defence Force were merged into the Air and Air Defence Force (Quân chủng Phòng không – Không quân).