The Naval Air Force ( vi, Binh chủng Không quân Hải quân) is an armed service of the

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; vi, Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsi ...

that has the function of performing tasks at sea or along the coast and islands by means of the air force such as aircraft combat aircraft, transport helicopters and patrol aircraft, etc. This is a force of the Navy that can coordinate missions with the

Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese ...

and many situations with similar functions, but the Naval Air Force is still a separate branch of the Vietnam People's Navy. The traditional military day is

July 24 Events Pre-1600 *1132 – Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. * 1148 – Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade. *1304 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirl ...

(the establishment of the Naval Air Defense - Air Force ()). Date of establishment of the first official unit:

3 July Events Pre-1600 * 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. * 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolut ...

(the date the 954th Naval Aviation Brigade was returned to the Navy by the Air Force).

Formation

Although the Navy branch of the People's Army of Vietnam was established in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

after the end of the

Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

, but due to the situation and conditions at that time especially the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

broke out, the United States Naval Air Forces constantly raiding

northern Vietnam Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng ...

, so the Navy at that time did not have its own naval aviation. After the Vietnam War ended, the Vietnam People's Navy gradually regularized and established many new forces and branches following the model of the Soviet Navy, including the naval aviation. On

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, the Navy Commander issued Decision No. 1253/B0-31 on the establishment of the Air Defense - Air Force Department on the basis of merging the Naval Air Defense Department and the Naval Air Force Department. After forming, Vietnamese naval soldiers were selected to go to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

to train in the use of new weapons of the armed services. In the second half of the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

, the Vietnam Naval Aviation received 12 Soviet

Kamov Ka-25 The Kamov Ka-25 (NATO reporting name "Hormone") is a naval helicopter, developed for the Soviet Navy in the USSR from 1958. Design and development In the late 1950s there was an urgent demand for anti-submarine helicopters for deployment on ne ...

submarine-hunting helicopters. Also in the second half of the 1980s, the Vietnam Naval Aviation continued to receive 4

Beriev Be-12 The Beriev Be-12 ''Chayka'' ("Seagull", NATO reporting name: Mail) is a Soviet turboprop-powered amphibious aircraft designed in the 1950s for anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties. Design and development The Beriev Be-12 was a successor to ...

submarine-hunting seaplanes. The Be-12 squadron and the

Sukhoi Su-22 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter ...

of the Vietnam People's Air Force often organize patrols in the

Spratly Islands The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed ...

. Later, Vietnam received new Kamov Ka-27PL anti-submarine helicopters from the Soviet Union. After 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated, Vietnam no longer received aid but continued to receive modern

Kamov Ka-28 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 a ...

anti-submarine helicopters through purchase from Russia. Currently, Kamov Ka-28 is the main anti-submarine weapon of the Naval Aviation force. In addition, Vietnam also purchased 10 Kamov Ka-32T helicopters designed similar to Ka-25/28 but for transport and rescue purposes. After the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

withdrew the ban on exporting military helicopters to Vietnam through the long-term lobbying of the

Executive Decision Export Services Group Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

, the Ministry of Defence of Vietnam purchased many helicopters operating in Vietnam sea of

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence A ...

(France) to equip the armed service. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, the Vietnam People's Navy just received a fleet of

Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H225 (previously Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma) is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Super Puma family. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up ...

transport-reconnaissance helicopters for the navy. On August 17, 2012, the Navy held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Naval Aviation Regiment infrastructure project at

Cam Ranh Airport Cam Ranh International Airport ( vi, Sân bay Quốc tế Cam Ranh) is located on Cam Ranh Bay in Cam Ranh, a town in Khánh Hòa Province in Vietnam. It serves the city of Nha Trang, which is from the airport. This airport handled 9,747,172 ...

, Khánh Hoà Province. In 2010, the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense ordered six

De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restart ...

maritime patrol aircraft from Canada. The Navy has decided to send 12 pilots of DHC-6 aircraft to Canada to train for a period of 17 months, in order to enhance the ability to patrol at sea. On July 3, at the 372nd Airborne Division ''(Đoàn Hải Vân)'', the Ministry of Defense held a ceremony to hand over the 954th Airborne Brigade (formerly known as the 954th Helicopter Regiment) from the

to the Navy and announced the decision to establish the 930th Helicopter Regiment stationed at

Da Nang International Airport Da Nang International Airport is located in Da Nang, the largest city in central Vietnam. It is the third international airport in the country, besides Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) and Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh ...

, under 372nd Division (

). The 930th Regiment was established to replace the 954th Regiment transferred to the People's Navy. The regiment has the duty of observation flight; reconnaissance, indicating targets in the air, on the ground and on the water surface; in charge of military transport in the central region - the Central Highlands and the southern

Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern c ...

; fly special aircraft to serve the

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of No ...

, State and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

leaders; participate in search, rescue, rescue and prevention of floods and storms; ready to perform the task of cooperating in combat to provide air fire support to the armed forces when ordered; organize conversion flight training for students of helicopter pilots of th
Air Force Officer's College
Based on its basic functions and current capabilities, the 954th Naval Air Brigade can perform the following tasks: Submarine hunting; military transport; reconnaissance, observation in the air, on the ground, on the water; search and rescue at sea, on land and rescue and prevention of storms and floods.

Current equipment

Current weapons of the Vietnam Naval Aviation: *

anti-submarine helicopters: 7-10 units. *

Kamov Ka-32 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 a ...

rescue helicopter: 1 unit *

Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) AS365 Dauphin (''Dolphin''), also formerly known as the Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin 2, is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It was originally developed ...

rescue helicopter: 6 units *

Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter that was designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation. It is capable of carrying up to 20 passengers as well as ...

transport/rescue helicopter: 9 units *

Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter developed and initially produced by the French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactu ...

transport helicopter: 7 units. *

marine reconnaissance helicopter: 2-4 units *

maritime patrol aircraft: 6 units (delivered in 2013–2014) The

and

squadrons were decommissioned due to their aging. The Vietnam People's Navy is planning to order from the United States 6

Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed Corporation, Lockh ...

patrol aircraft of the United States Navy and the two sides are continuing to negotiate. The United States government can help the Vietnamese side complete this contract. It is expected that these 6 P-3Cs will be upgraded with the most modern radio-electronic equipment (FLIR infrared target search sensor, ASQ-114 computer system, AYA-8 data, MAD ASQ-81 display system, ALR-95V radar, AQH-4V hydroacoustic navigation system) in the United States before returning to Vietnam if the contract is performed.

P-3C Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

Uniforms

Airmen of the Navy wear the style and color of the Navy uniform. Wear the Navy purple combination military rank, with the air force insignia. Wear a purple hard hat and soft hat.

Notes

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Formation

Current equipment

Notes

See also