A spate of army jet crashes in Vietnam, together with one final month that killed the pilot, could be blamed on poor coaching and an getting old fleet of out of date warplanes, consultants instructed Radio Free Asia.
State media reported {that a} Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jet piloted by Capt. Tran Ngoc Duy crashed Jan. 31 whereas making an attempt to land at Yen Bai, an airbase within the nation’s north, following a coaching mission.
The crash was the third lethal warplane accident since 2016, and all three level to an over reliance on flight simulators, as pilots spend little or no time in planes, Carl Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defence Academy, instructed RFA’s Vietnamese Service.
Vietnam’s air pressure has a fleet of 71 Soviet-era planes, lots of which had been acquired within the Nineteen Eighties, he stated.
“In 2019, U.S. defense officials serving in Hanoi reported that Vietnamese military officers had expressed their unhappiness with Russian equipment and services,” Thayer stated.
The reason for the January crash is probably going as a result of both defective touchdown gear or pilot error, he stated.
“According to one study, Vietnamese air force pilots use virtual flight rules or radar vector in perfect weather only and have no experience with adverse weather conditions,” he stated.
Accident captured on video
State media reported that the Su-22 encountered an issue whereas touchdown and Duy was ordered to eject. He then tried to appropriate the issue manually however failed, and the aircraft crashed.
In a video concerning the accident filmed by a cellphone and posted on Fb by one of many pilot’s relations, when the Su-22 was about to land on the airstrip, it all of a sudden tilted and wobbled and a small flame began within the cockpit. Then, the pilot seat ejected however a parachute was not seen.
Shortly after that, the aircraft crashed onto the runway, inflicting an explosion with a giant column of smoke and fireplace.
Video vụ Su-22 rơi: Phi công đã phóng ghế bay và nhảy dù? #RFAVietnamese #SU22YenBai #Su22Vietnam #Vietnam #Vietnamairforce #Yenbai #PhicongTranNgocDuy pic.twitter.com/tSITeoW8Ne
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The Vietnamese Ministry of Nationwide Defence launched an investigation after the accident, however to this point has not introduced any findings.
Capt. Tran Ngoc Duy was posthumously promoted to main. He had served 13 years within the air pressure and piloted many sorts of plane, logging 725 flight hours
Previous plane
Prof. Zachary Abuza from the U.S. Nationwide Warfare Faculty stated that Vietnam’s getting old fleet was positively an issue.
“The People’s Army Air Force has a lot of very old airframes, including the Su-22, and many are at the end of their lifecycle,” he stated. “Another problem is that since the airframes, especially the newer ones like the Su-27, are very expensive, there is a reluctance to use them and train on them.”
Abuza stated each components work to create a vicious cycle. The dearth of coaching on the costly fashions leads to extra accidents when they’re flown.
Pilot coaching nowadays is a rarity as a result of an absence of finances and gas, stated Nguyen Dinh Am, a journalist who as soon as labored for the Vietnam Heritage vacationer journal.
“I live near Gia Lam Military Airport [in Hanoi] and I can easily hear an aircraft taking off, but these days I rarely hear airplane sounds,” he stated. “Ancient aircraft, improper maintenance, and pilots with poor flying reflexes due to lack of practice could lead to mistakes and accidents.”
On the Nationwide Occasion Congress in early 2021, the federal government permitted a serious army modernization program that prioritized air pressure upgrades.
Nguyen The Phoung, a lecturer from the School of Worldwide Relations, Ho Chi Minh Metropolis College of Economics and Finance, instructed RFA that upgrades had been badly wanted to guard Vietnam’s sovereignty.
“The entire fleet of Vietnam’s fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft are of Soviet-Russian origin,” he stated. “The procurement of fighter aircraft is a big investment. Besides purchasing equipment, training, maintenance, and suitability for combat requirements are also needed,” he stated.
However as a result of Russia is the provider of Vietnam’s fight plane, speedy modernization is just not possible instantly as a result of Moscow is combating a battle in Ukraine, he stated. “Obviously, Vietnam cannot buy Russian weapons freely like it did in the past. It needs to take the international community’s reactions into account.”
Thayer stated Vietnam was in “critical need” to modernize.
“In late-2020, Vietnam moved to restructure its logistics support services to improve maintenance, repair and overhaul of its legacy combat air fleet,” he stated. “Special priority has been accorded to maintaining, repairing and overhauling Vietnam’s Su-30MK2 multi-role jet fighters.”
Each Thayer and Abuza stated Vietnam was seeking to buy a fifth-generation fighter from Russia just like the Su-30, -35, or -57, however Moscow has been capped on weapons exports after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The invasion of the nation in 2022 additional decreases the chance of such a transaction.
American shift?
In December, Reuters reported that U.S. protection firms had mentioned supplying army gear, together with helicopters and drones, to Vietnam in talks with prime authorities officers, a brand new signal that Vietnam could scale back its reliance on Russian arms.
Thayer stated that in late 2021, Vietnam positioned an order for twelve T-6 jet trainers and Vietnamese pilots commenced participation within the U.S. Air Power Aviation Management Program in the USA, strikes which will lay the inspiration for the sale of the U.S.-made F-15E Strike Eagle to Vietnam by the top of this decade.
Hanoi additionally ordered six Boeing Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aerial autos for its Coast Guard underneath the U.S. Maritime Safety Initiative in 2019, he stated, and instructed that the battle in Ukraine has raised the salience of drones and different UAVs in armed fight, that means Vietnam can be an awesome marketplace for U.S.-made weapons.
“There are two constraints on Vietnam’s purchases of non-Russian weaponry. The first is the legacy of dependency on Russia for spare parts, servicing, maintenance support and language. The second constraint is cost and time,” he stated. “U.S. and European weapons are expensive and Vietnam would need to develop an appropriate logistics support network that would take considerable time to develop.”
However Abuza stated there was no likelihood that Vietnam would purchase American jets.
“I am paying close attention to the recently upgraded ties with South Korea, now a comprehensive strategic partner,” Abuza stated. “South Korea has been trying to sell its latest fighter overseas. It’s a lot more expensive than the Russian fighters, but still cheaper than American or European [ones].”
In line with former army intelligence officer Vu Minh Tri, it is extremely tough for Vietnam to import Western international locations’ weapons as a result of its restricted finances.
He stated that Vietnam spends most of its protection finances on wages, meals, and provides, whereas the funding for weapons makes up solely a small half.
Corruption and the shortage of transparency are the largest challenges the army faces, he stated.
“In general, Vietnam’s procurement of weapons and military equipment is not transparent,” Tri stated. Vietnam’s “partners have told me that those assigned to purchase weapons always increase the purchasing prices to keep the difference. Western countries don’t accept this practice.”
As well as, Western international locations don’t belief Hanoi as a result of Vietnam considers China a detailed ally, and Vietnam doesn’t belief the USA and different Western international locations, considering they intend to topple the present regime, Tri stated.
Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
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