After December 30, 1972, the US stopped bombing the North from the 20th parallel and the air defense forces were tasked with repairing damaged equipment. Colonel Nguyen Dinh Kien was assigned to reinforce Military Region 4. He was assigned to Battalion 52, Regiment 267 in Nghia Dan, Nghe An to continue fighting B-52s that were dropping bombs to sabotage our transportation routes from Thanh Hoa onwards.
In just 2 days, Colonel Nguyen Dinh Kien quickly got acquainted with the equipment, reviewed the combat plan, and prepared for combat with his teammates. On January 10, 1973, B52s attacked Nghe An, but they only bombed Vinh and then returned. In unfavorable parameters, Colonel Kien's Battalion failed to hit the target. After that last battle in the northern sky, his Battalion was assigned to return to Hanoi .
After 1975, the newly unified Vietnam had to continue to enter a new battle to protect the Southwest Border and then the Northern Border. According to Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat, during this period, the mission of the air defense and air force was doubly heavy: “ Previously, we only arranged an air defense system including radar, airports, navigation, anti-aircraft positions... from the 17th parallel onwards. But after liberating the South, our mission was to protect the airspace and sea of the whole country. We had to deploy the mission based on the forces we had, and mobilize new forces.”
Our Air Force took over nearly 1,000 aircraft (including helicopters, transport aircraft, attack aircraft and fighters) captured from the US-puppet regime for exploitation and use ; deployed forces to take over modern airports of the old regime.
Separating the two military branches was a wise and timely decision of the Ministry of National Defense to quickly deploy the air defense-air force posture, ready to deal with the newly breaking out war.
With the mission “doubled”, in June 1977, the Ministry of National Defense separated the Air Defense-Air Force into two branches. The Air Defense-Air Force was tasked with arranging and building the air defense force of the whole country. The Air Force was tasked with protecting the national airspace, and was also ready to participate in protecting the southwestern border. “Separating the two branches was a wise and timely decision of the Ministry of National Defense to quickly deploy the air defense-air force posture, ready to deal with the newly breaking out war”, Lieutenant General Soat shared.
Thanks to that, we have continuously achieved very important feats in the war to protect the southwestern border. The air force took over the F5 and A37 aircraft to effectively support the air defense force to win. In particular, in the battle on Tho Chu island, the air force with pilots flying A37 aircraft, took off from Can Tho airport to bomb and attack the solid defense positions on the island, preventing the enemy's artillery and mortars from firing, creating favorable conditions for our troops to win.
Pilots talk after a coordinated attack on June 27, 1972. Photo: Archive
Pilots talk after a coordinated attack on June 27, 1972. Photo: Archive
When the northern border war broke out in 1979, our air force was quite powerful. In addition to the MiG-21 aircraft, A37 and F5 aircraft from the south were sent to Da Phuc airport (now Noi Bai airport) and Kep airport (Bac Giang) to be ready to respond if the enemy intended to invade Hanoi's skies.
In 1999, on the basis of the country's stable situation, the tasks of the air defense and air force were basically the same, so the Air Defense and Air Force were merged.
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