The Myanmar Air Force, pronounced: [taʔmədɔ̀ lè]), known until 1989 as the
Burmese Air Force, is the aerial branch of Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw.
The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force since its inception has been to
provide transport, logistical, and close air support to the Myanmar Army in
counter-insurgency operations. It is mainly used in internal conflicts in
Myanmar, and, on a smaller scale, in relief missions, especially after the
deadly Cyclone Nargis of May 2008. History
= Post Independence era= The Myanmar Air Force was formed as the
Burmese Air Force on 16 January 1947, while Burma was still under British
rule. By 1948, the fleet of the new air force included 40 Airspeed Oxfords, 16
de Havilland Tiger Moths, four Austers, and three Supermarine Spitfires
transferred from the Royal Air Force, and had a few hundred personnel.
The Mingaladon Air Base HQ, the main air base in the country, was formed on 16
June 1950. No.1 Squadron, Equipment Holding Unit and Air High Command -
Burma Air Force, and the Flying Training School, were placed under the
jurisdiction of the base. A few months later, on 18 December 1950, No. 2
Squadron was formed with nine Douglas Dakotas as a transport squadron. In
1953, the Advanced Flying Unit was formed under the Mingaladon Air Base
with de Havilland Vampire T55s, and by the end of 1953 the Burmese Air Force
had three main airbases, at Mingaladon, Hmawbi, and Meiktila, in central Burma.
In 1953, the Burmese Air Force bought 30 Supermarine Spitfires from Israel and 20
Supermarine Seafires from the United Kingdom, and in 1954 it bought 40
Hunting Provost T-53s and eight de Havilland Vampire Mark T55s from the
United Kingdom. In late 1955, the Burmese Air Force formed a Maintenance
Air Base in Mingaladon, No. 501 Squadron Group and No. 502 Squadron Group. In
1956, the Burmese Air Force bought 10 Cessna 180 aircraft from the United
States. The same year, six Kawasaki Bell 47Gs formed its first helicopter unit.
The following year, the Burmese Air Force procured 21 Hawker Sea Fury
aircraft from the United Kingdom and nine de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otters
from Canada. In 1958, it procured seven additional Kawasaki Bell 47Gs and 12
Vertol H-21 Shawnees from the United States. Five years later, No. 503
Squadron Group was formed with No. 51 Squadron and No. 53 Squadron in
Meiktila. On 15 February 1961, an unmarked
Republic of China Air Force Consolidated PB4Y Privateer came into Burmese air
space carrying supplies for Chinese Kuomintang forces fighting in northern
Burma, and was intercepted by three Hawker Sea Fury fighters of the Burmese
Air Force. The intruding bomber and one Burmese fighter crashed in Thailand
during the incident. In 1962, a new radar station in
Mingaladon and a mobile radar station in Lwemwe were put into operation. By
December 1964, the the Burmese Air Force had 323 officers and 5,677 other ranks
and it acquired Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star jet trainers and a new radar
station, which could operate within a 120-mile radius, was opened in Namsang.
In 1966, the radar arm of the air force underwent a complete overhaul and
upgrade, with new radar stations being operated. The Namsang Radar station was
upgraded to cover about a 200-mile radius and renamed No.71 Squadron. In
the same year, the Burmese Air Force formed the No. 1 Airborne Battalion with
26 officers and 750 other ranks. On 1 January 1967, the Burmese Air Force
reorganised its command structure. No. 501 Squadron Group in Hmawbi became No.
501 Air Base HQ; No. 502 Squadron Group in Mingalardon became No. 502 Air Base
HQ; and No. 503 Squadron Group in Meiktila became No. 502 Air Base HQ in
Meiktila. It also maintained airfield detachments in Lashio and Kengtung to
cope with the insurgency of Burmese Communicaty Party in the northeast
border region of the country. In 1975, the Burmese Air Force took
delivery of 18 Bell 205A and seven Bell 206B helicopters from the United States
under the International Narcotic Control Program. In March 1975, it bought 20
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 trainers from Italy.
Between 1976 and 1987, the Burmese Air Force bought seven Pilatus PC-6 Turbo
porter STOL aircraft; and 16 Pilatus PC-7 and 10 Pilatus PC-9 turboprop
trainers from Switzerland. These aircraft were deployed in Lashio for
close air support in counter-insurgency operations.
= Modernisation programme= In the early 1990s, the Burmese Air
Force upgraded its facilities and introduced two new air base headquarters
and existing air base headquarters were renamed. It also significantly upgraded
its radar and electronic warfare facilities. The Burmese Air Force bought
more than 100 aircraft from the People's Republic of China, which included F7 IIK
interceptors, FT-7 Trainers, A-5C Ground Attack Aircraft, FT-6M trainers, K-8
trainers and Y-8 transport aircraft. In 1989, the Burmese Air Force was
renamed the Myanmar Air Force in accordance with the country changing its
name from Burma to Myanmar. In December 1990, the Myanmar Air Force
took the first delivery from China of 10 F7 IIK interceptors and two FT-7
Trainers followed by another batch of 12 F7 IIK interceptors in May 1993. Further
deliveries of F7 IIK interceptors were made in 1995, 1998 and 1999.
By 2000, the Myanmar Air Force has received 62 F7 IIK interceptors from
China. Israel was contracted to refurbish and upgrade all operational
F-7s and FT-7s: these were to get the Elta EL/M-2032 air-to-air radar, Rafael
Python Mk. III and even Litening laser-designator pods. The same
equipment was then installed on the two-seater FT-7 fighter trainers as
well. In a related deal, Israel delivered to Myanmar at least one
consignment of laser-guided bombs, but no deliveries of any other weapons are
known. Since the Elbit contract was won in 1997, the air force has acquired at
least one more squadron of F-7 and FT-7 aircraft from China, but these were not
upgraded. Between 1992 and 2000, the Myanmar Air
Force took delivery of 36 A-5C Ground Attack Aircraft from China. In addition,
the Myanmar Air Force also bought 20 Soko G-4 Super Galeb armed jet trainers
from Yugoslavia in 1991. The Myanmar Air Force procured a range
of helicopters from Russia and Poland between 1991 and 1997; it bought 20
PZL-Swidnik Mil Mi-2 and 13 PZL W-3 Sokol helicopters from Poland and 13 Mil
Mi-17 from Russia. These helicopters were put into counter-insurgency
operations against ethnic rebels in the Irrawaddy River delta. Four Mil Mi-2,
four PZL W-3 Sokol, and two Bell 205 helicopters were grouped as an air
detachment stationed in Bogalay for "Operation Monediang" in October 1991.
During this operation, Mil Mi-2 helicopters were fitted with a wide
range of weapons to provide ground attack and air cover for heliborne air
assault operations. Four Mil Mi-2s of the air detachment made a total of 80
sorties over 17 targets with nearly 82 flying hours. Four PZL W-3 Sokol
helicopters, unarmed and used for troop transport carrying 20 airborne
commandos, each flew 443 missions with 197 flying hours. Bell 205 helicopters
carried out search and rescue, and they flew 263 missions with over 114 flying
hours. In 2001, the Myanmar Air Force bought 12
MiG-29 Fighter Aircraft from Belarus. This was followed by an additional order
of 20 MiG-29 as part of a $570 million defence package in December 2009. The
Myanmar Air Force also ordered 10 Mil Mi-35 gunship helicopters as part of a
$71 million defence package signed in December 2009.
Despite these modernisation measures, the capability of the Myanmar Air Force
remained questionable, due to its absence during the Battle of Border Post
9631 with Thailand and the rescue missions related to Cyclone Nargis in
May 2008. Islamabad's Capital Television reported
on 18 MarchTemplate:What year? that Pakistan's Ministry of Defence had said
that a contract had been signed for Pakistan to sell the JF-17 Thunder
multirole fighter, also known as the FC-1 Xiaolong, which was jointly
developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex,
to Naypyidaw. Commanders in Chief and Chiefs of Air
Staff since 1948 Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Air
Staff in chronological order Wing Commander Saw Shi Sho BAF-1020
Major Tommy Clift Lieutenant Colonel Thura Selwyn James
Khin Brigadier General Thura Tommy Clift
Brigadier General Thaung Dan Major General Thura Saw Phyu BAF-1047
Major General Ko Gyi Lieutenant General Tin Tun BAF-1127
Lieutenant General Thein Win BAF-1193 Lieutenant General Tin Ngwe BAF-1312
Lieutenant General Kyaw Than BAF-1334 Major General Myint Swe
General Myat Hein BAF-1597 DSA-11 General Khin Aung Myint
Organisations Personnel: 23,000 all ranks.
Air Force headquarters, Ministry of Defence
Aircraft Production and Repair Base Headquarters
Air Force - Ground Training Base Air Force - Fly Training Base
Air Bases Pathein Air Base HQ
Hmawbi Air Base HQ Mingaladon Air Base HQ
Magway Air Base HQ Myitkyina Air Base HQ
Myeik Air Base HQ Namsang Air Base HQ
Taungoo Air Base HQ - No.47 Helicopter Squardron
Meikhtila Air Base HQ - for training and operation, another airbase at Meikthila
is helicopter training base. Homemalin Air Base HQ
Myanmar Air Force also utilised civilian airfields as front-line air fields in
case of foreign invasion. Air Defence
= Bureau of Air Defence= The Air Defence Command was formed
during the late 1990s but was not fully operational until late 1999. It was
renamed Bureau of Air Defence in the early 2000s. In early 2000, Tatmadaw
established Myanmar Integrated Air Defence System with help from Russia,
Ukraine and China.It is a tri-service bureau with units from all three
branches of Myanmar Armed Forces. All Air Defence assets except Anti-Aircraft
Artillery within Tatmadaw arsenal are integrated into MIADS. AAA guns are
mostly unguided and deploy to use in barrage-style firing against attacking
aircraft. MIADS is directly answerable to Bureau of Air Defence under Ministry
of Defence. In 2010, Myanmar Air Defence Command has
completed installation of optical fibre communication network throughout the
country. Those network are to be used for Air defence operations between
Central Command HQ from capital & several air bases, early warning radar
stations & mobile anti air craft missile & artillery units. After completion of
fibre optic project & radar stations, MIADS becomes the most advance AD system
in the region. Sector Operations Commands
Under MIADS, the country was divided into six Air Defence Sectors, each
controlled by a Sector Operations Centre and reporting directly to the National
Air Defence Operations Centre in Yangon. Each SOC transmitted data back to
Intercept Operations Centers, which in turn controlled SAM batteries and
fighter/interceptor squadrons at various Air Bases. Each IOC was optimised to
direct either SAMs or fighter/interceptor aircraft against
incoming enemy aircraft or missile. Each IOC was connected to observer and early
warning area reporting posts via military owned underground fibre optic
cable network. There were about 100 radar stations located at approximately
40 sites throughout the country. New Air Defence radars such as 1L117 radars,
Galaxy Early Warning Radar and P series radars are installed in all radar
stations. Each Sector Operation Centre is
commanded by a Major General and it consists of one air defence division
from Myanmar Army and one fighter-interceptor wing from Myanmar
Air Force. Sometimes Air Defence Frigates from Myanmar Navy also operates
under the direct command of respective SOC.
Each Air Defence division is commanded by a Brigadier General and consists of
three Air Defence Tactical Operations Command and support units. One Medium
Range Surface to Air Missile Tactical Operations Command, with three
battalions equipped with Buk M-1 or Kub missile system is deployed in an Area
Defence Belt role. One Short Range Air Defence Tactical Operations Command,
with three battalions equipped with Tor M-1 missile system is deployed in a
Point Defence role for critical areas such as radar stations, fighter bases
and SOC headquarters. One Electronic Reconnaissance Tactical Operations
Command with 6 to 8 radar and communication companies for early
warnings and interdiction detection. Each fighter-interceptor wing commanded
by a Brigadier General and is composed of three Fighter squadrons of either
MiG-29 and F-7M Airguard Interceptors and their ground base support units.
Aircraft = Current inventory=
Markings Myanmar national insignia is usually
applied on six positions. The serialling system of Myanmar Air Force aircraft is
suggested to serve as both – unit and individual aircraft identity, this could
not be confirmed so far, however. Most of the older aeroplanes carried the
serials with the prefix “UB” and the numbers in Burmese. Sometimes the
serials were outlined in white. Combat aircraft generally carry serials in
black. See also
Myanmar Army Myanmar Navy
Military Intelligence of Myanmar Myanmar Police Force
Myanmar Frontier Forces References
Hoyle, Craig. "World Air Forces Directory". Flight International, Vol.
182, No. 5370, 11–17 December 2012. pp. 40–64. ISSN 0015-3710.
World Aircraft Information Files. Brightstar Publishing, London. File 333
Sheet 05