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Aviation History
1982
1982 - 2538.PDF
WORLD'S AIR FORCES KAMPUCHEA Khmer Liberation Army Still under Vietnamese occupation, the equipment of the former Pol Pot regime's Khmer Air Force has been assimilated into the Vietnamese People's Air Force. NORTH KOREA Korean People's Army Air Force North Korea continues to distrust its southern neighbour, and maintains a disproportionately large air arm as a consequence. About 100 MiG-21s, and a similar number of MiG-19s, are used for air defence, backed up by some 250 SA-2 missiles. A large light- bomber force of 70 11-28 Beagles is still operational, with another 70 or so MiG-19s, 250 plus MiG-15s, and MiG-17s, and 30 Su-7s tasked with ground attack. The large transport fleet is led by a VIP-configured Tu-154 and contains small numbers of Il-14s and Il-18s, over 30 An-24s, and 150 plus An-2s. The training chain starts with the Yak-11, going on to Yak-18s, MiG-15s, and then type conversion. Helicopters in service are about 20 Mi-4s, and a similar number of Mi-8s. NORTH KOREA TYPE 11-28 Beagle MiG-21 Fishbed MiG-19 Farmer MiG-17/MiG-15 Su-7 Fitter Tu-154 Careless 11-14 Crate 11-18 Coot An-24 Coke An-2 Colt Yak-11 Moose Yak-18 Max Mi-4 Hound Mi-8 Hip NO 70 100 100/70 250 + 30 1 5 5 30+ 150+ 30? 30+ 20 20 ROLE Bomber AD AD/attack Attack Attack VIP Transport Transport Transport Transport Trainer Trainer Utility Transport SOUTH KOREA Republic of Korea Air Force Backed strongly by the USA, South Korea is extremely wary of North Korea. SOUTH KOREA TYPE NO ROLE F-16A/B Fighting Fal F-4D/E Phantom F-5E/F Tiger F-5A/B RF-5A F-86F Sabre F-86D Sabre OV-10G Bronco A-37 Dragonfly C-123 Provider C-46 Commando HS.748 0-2 T-37 T-33 T-28 Trojan T-41D Aero Commander Beaver Bell 212 UH-1D/N H-19 Navy S-2A/F Army UH-1N Hughes 500MD OH-23 con 30/6 18/36 126/20 87/35 10 40 12 24 30 25 20 2 12 15 30 24 20 2 2 15/1 6 20 2 30 AD AD AD/attack AD/attack Recce AD AD Coin Coin Transport Transport VIP FAC Trainer Trainer Trainer Trainer VIP Liaison SAR SAR/VIP SAR ASW VIP Anti-tank AOP Undergoing modernisation, the Air Force is to receive 30 General Dyna mics F-16A Fighting Falcons, and six two-seat F-16Bs. Also to be supplied, and paid for in part by the USA, is a new ground-based air-defence radar system and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The first of 36 Northrop F-5Es and 32 F-5Fs licence-built in Korea, are to be delivered this month. These aircraft will eventually replace the 120 F-5A/Bs in service. The USAF bases one wing of F-16s and one wing of A-lOs in South Korea. The country is a sales prospect for the latter aircraft. LAOS Air Force of the Liberation Army Before being taken over by Com munists in April 1975, the Royal Lao Air Force operated US-supplied equipment. This has been supplemented by Soviet- supplied aircraft, some via Vietnam. Air defence is handled by a single squadron of ten MiG-21 s based at Wattay Airport near the capital of Vientiane. Soviet transports supplied in the mid- to late- Seventies include An-2 and An 24s plus about ten Mi-8 helicopters. As many as 40 T-28A/D counter-insurgency aircraft ten. AC-47 "Dragon" gunships, 18 C-47 transports, six Cessna T-41Ds, and 30 UH34s, were in service when the Com munist forces gained power and some of these may remain in service. MALAYSIA Royal Malaysian Air Force As part of the 1979-83 Fourth Malaysian Plan, the Armed Forces will spend M$9,800 mil lion on new equipment, with M$l,039 million allocated to the RMAF's strike requirement. The RMAF had considered an "as-is, where-is" buy of 88 early- model A-4 Skyhawks now in desert open-storage in the USA. These would have been reworked to provide 54 A-4s and 14 TA-4s. But after President Reagan lifted a ban on foreign military sales, the RMAF decided to buy only 22 initially. A decision on the other 66 is pending on RMAF evaluation of the A-7D Corsair and the F-16/79. Another reason is that the cost of modifying the Skyhawks, together with a 15 per cent increase in the basic price due mainly to inflation and exchange-rate fluctuation, has made the deal less attractive as time passed. Yet another alternative under consideration is to buy 28-40 A-4s and another 18-20 Northrop F-5E Tigers. The Skyhawks were not to replace the CL-41G Tebuans MALAYSIA TYPE NO ROLE A-4L Skyhawk F-5E/B/F CL-41G Tebuan C-130H Hercules C-130H-MP Hercules Caribou F.28Mk 1000 Cessna 402B Cessna 402B HS.125 Bulldog 102 Pilatus PC-7 Cessna 172 Nurtanio /MBB BO.105 S-61A Nuris Alouette III Bell 47G 88*(68) Strike 13/2/4* AD 11 6 3 16 2 4 8 2 11 44* 10 10* 40 24 6 Strike/train Tran MR Tran VIP VIP Survey/liaison VIP Train Train Train Scout Tran Liaison Train (Canadair CT-114 Tutor) but to form the nucleus of a more advanced strike force than the Tebuans can provide. In the trainer role, a Tebuan replacement was sought and four aircraft were under consideration: the Aermacchi MB.339, British Aerospace Hawk, Casa C.101, and the Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet. The MB.339 was declared the winner. On the basic training side, 44 Pilatus PC-7s are on order to replace the Bulldogs and Cessnas. The first six will be delivered in October. NEW ZEALAND Royal New Zealand Air Force The RNZAF comprises seven operational squadrons in the strike, maritime, and transport roles under the command of an Operations Group in Auckland. The other main element is Support Group in Christchurch which is responsible for the support and training functions. The Air Force headquarters is located in Wellington as part of the tri-service defence command organisation. An RNZAF Support Unit equipped with helicopters is based in Singapore operating in support of New Zealand Force SE Asia based there. The RNZAF retired its D.H. Devons last year, replacing them with three Cessna 421s in the light transport/ liaison role. Two secondhand Boeing 727s also entered service to supplement the Hercules in the long-range trans port role. A third 727 is being canni balised for spares. The P-3B update continues with the radar and sonics systems being modern ised. The Skyhawk force will benefit from a new nav-attack system shortly. Two CT.4 Airtrainers have been put into service from the six that were in storage. Three Bell UH-lHs are operated in the army support role in Singapore by the RNZAF Support Unit. A 29-man RNZAF team is operating with the Royal Australian Air Force as part of the Multi-national Observation Force Aviation Support Group in the Sinai. The unit operates two UH-ls on loan from the United States. TYPE NO ROLE A-4K/TA-4K Skyhawk Strikemaster Mk.88 P-3B Orion C-130H Hercules Boeing 727-100C Andover C1 Cessna 421C Bell UH-1D/H Iroquois Bell 47G Sioux CT.4 Airtrainer F.27 Friendship Wasp HAS.1 (Navy) 9/3 16 5 5 2 6/4 3 10(3) 12 15(4) 3 2 Strike/train Strike/train MP/ASW Tran Tran Tran/VIP Tran Army support SAR/tran/ train Train NvTr ASW from HMNZS Canterbury and Waikato PAPUA NEW GUINEA Fapua New Guinea Defence Force Formed on independence in 1975, the PNGDF aviation branch is assisted by the Royal Australian Air Force opera ting six ex-RAAF C-47s for transport, and two GAF Nomad Searchmasters in coastal surveillance. Four more Search- masters are on order as are three Missionmaster light transports. FLIGHT International, 6 November 1982
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