Myanmar Air Force

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Myanmar Air Force / Burmese Air Force Tatmdaw Lei
The Myanmar Air Force flag, featuring the Air Force roundel. It is one of the few roundels in the world not based on the national flag; rather it features the Golden Triangle, a reference to Myanmar's geographical location.
Founded	January 16, 1947
Country	Burma (Myanmar)
Part of	Myanmar Armed Forces
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief (Air)	Lieutenant General Myat Hein
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Chengdu F-7 Airguard
Interceptor	Mikoyan MiG-29

The Burmese Air Force (officially the Myanmar Air Force or Tatmdaw Lei) was formed on January 16, 1947. In 1948, the order of battle for The Burmese Air Force included 40 Airspeed Oxfords, 16 de Havilland Tiger Moths, 4 Austers and 3 Supermarine Spitfires with a few hundred personnel. The Mingaladon Air Base headquarters was formed on the 16 June 1950. No.1 Squadron, Equipment Holding Unit and Air headquarters - Burma Air Force, and the Flying Training School, were placed under the base. A few months later, on 18 December 1950, No. 2 Squadron was formed with nine Dakotas as transport squadron. In 1953, the Advanced Flying Unit with De Havilland Vampire Mark T55s was formed under the Mingaladon Air Base and by the end of 1953, The Burmese Air Force has 3 Airbase headquarters (Mingaladon, Hmawbi and Meiktila).

In late 1955, The Burmese Air Force formed a Maintenance Air Base in Mingaladon, No. 501 Suadron Group (Hmawbi Airbase) and No. 502 Squadron Group (Mingaladon Air Base). Five years later, No. 503 Squadron Group was formed with No. 51 Squadron (de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otters and Cessnas) and No. 53 Squadron (Bell 47Gs/Huskys and Alouettes) in Meiktila.

In 1962, The Burmese Air Force opened a radar station in Mingaladon and a mobile radar station in Lwemwe (near Tachileik). In December 1964, The Burmese Air Force had 323 officers and 5677 other ranks and it acquired 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, new radar stations were opened and existing stations were upgraded. The Namsang Radar station was upgraded to cover about a 200-mile radius and renamed to No.71 Squadron. In the same year The Burmese Air Force formed No. 1 Airborne Battalion with 26 officers and 750 other ranks.^[1]

1 Modernization Programme
- 1.1 Administrative and Support Units
- 1.2 Air Bases
2 Air Defence
- 2.1 Myanmar Integrated Air Defence System
- 2.2 Sector Operations Commands
3 Equipment
- 3.1 Serials and Markings
4 References
5 See also

[edit] Modernization 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. Consequently, Israel was contracted to refurbish and upgrade all the surviving 36 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 (except mentioned) 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.

Air Bases of Myanmar AF

Commander-in-Chief (AIR) 1. Lt-Col. Saw Shwe Sho 2. Maj. Tommy Cliff 3. Lt-Col. ThuyaS. Khin 4. Brig-Gen.ThuyaTommy Cliff 5. Brig-Gen. Thaung Dan 6. Maj-Gen. ThuyaSaw Phyu 7. Maj-Gen. Ko Gyi 8. Lt-Gen. Tin Tun 9. Lt-Gen. Thein Win 10.Lt-Gen. Tin Ngwe 11.Maj-Gen Myint Swe 12.Lt-Gen. Myat Hein

[edit] Administrative and Support Units

Personnel: 15,000 all ranks

Air Force headquarters, Ministry of Defence
Aircraft Production and repair Base Headquarters (Mingaladon)
Ground Training Base (Meiktila)
Fly Training Base (Shante)

[edit] Air Bases

Pathein Air Base headquarters
Mingaladon Air Base headquarters (former 502 Air Base)
Myitkyina Air Base headquarters (former 503 Air Base)
Myike Air Base headquarters
Namsang Air Base headquarters
Taungoo Air Base headquarters
Meikhtila(Shante)Air base for trainning and operation, another airbase at Meikthila is helicopter trainning base.
Homemalin new Air base (at sagaing division) can be seen at Google earth website via internet.
Many airfields other than above mentioned have been prepared to be used as front-line fields in case of foreign invasion.

[edit] Air Defence

[edit] Myanmar Integrated Air Defence System

The Burmese Air Force established Myanmar Integrated Air Defence System (MIADS) with help from Russia, Ukraine and China in early 2000. All Air Defence assets within the The Burmese Air Force, except the Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) are formally integrated into MIADS. AAA guns are mostly unguided and deploy to use in barrage-style firing against attacking aircraft.

Under the newly formed air defence system, the country was divided into Six Air Defense sectors, each controlled by a Sector Operations Command (SOC) reporting directly to the National Air Defense Operations Command (NADOC) Headquarter in Yangon. Each SOC transmits early-warning and tracking data to Air Intercept Operations Centers (AIOC), which in turn control mobile Surface to Air Missiles batteries and Fighter/Interceptor aircraft at various air bases throughout the country. IOCs are optimized to direct either SAM or interceptor aircraft against incoming missiles or enemy aircraft. Each IOC is connected to observation and early warning area reporting posts (RP) via Defence Fibre Optic Cable network. There are around 100+ radars and early warning systems located in approximately 40 sites throughout the country. New Air Defence radars such as 1L117 radars, Galaxy Early Warning Radar and P series radars are now installed and full operational at all radar stations.

With the introduction of new radar systems and Mobile Guided Surface to Air Missiles systems, MIADS become of the most advanced AD systems in the region. Many young officers from The Burmese Air Force have attended several Air Defence Training courses in Russia, Ukraine, China and Serbia.

[edit] Sector Operations Commands

Northern SOC (HQ at Myitkyina)
Southern SOC (HQ at Myeik)
Western SOC (HQ at Sittwe)
Eastern SOC (HQ at Tachilek)
South Eastern SOC (HQ at Ye)
Central SOC (HQ at Meikhtila)

[edit] Equipment

Name	Country	Type	Quantity	Armament
Chengdu F-7 Airguard	People's Republic of China	fighter interceptor	40	equipped with French R550 Magic air-to-air missiles)
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum	Soviet Union / Russia	multirole fighter-interceptor	12 - additional MiG-29s ordered in 2006 ^[2]	30 mm cannon, AAM, rocket pods, bombs
Shenyang J-6 Farmer	People's Republic of China	fighter-ground attack	16	internal cannon armament and bombs
Nanchang A-5 Fantan	People's Republic of China	fighter-ground attack	48	23mm cannon, rocket pods and bombs
Soko G-4 Super Galeb	Yugoslavia	tandem-seat low-wing advanced jet trainer/light attack jet (counterinsurgency)	12	guided air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles
Pilatus PC-9	Switzerland	single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft (counterinsurgency)	7	unarmed
Shaanxi Y-8D2 Cub	People's Republic of China	turboprop transport	6	unarmed
Fokker F-27 Friendship	Netherlands	turboprop transport	2	unarmed
Fairchild Hiller FH-227	United States	twin-engined turboprop passenger/transport aircraft	3	unarmed
Hongdu K-8 Karakorum	People's Republic of China	training/light attack & Maritime Surveillance	12	unarmed
Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer	Switzerland	light trainer training & maritime surveillance	5	now unarmed, previously armed with unguided rocket and used in counterinsurgency operations
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander	United Kingdom	light utility aircraft/training & maritime surveillance	2	unarmed
Cessna 180 Skywagon	United States	light utility/liaison aircraft	4	unarmed
Cessna 550 Citation	United States	business jet/liaison aircraft	1	unarmed
Pilatus PC-6A/B Turbo Porter	Switzerland	STOL passenger and utility aircraft (liaison aircraft)	5	unarmed
Mi-17 Hip-H	Soviet Union	transport helicopter	11	machine gun/gunship
Bell UH-1 Iroquois	United States	multipurpose utility helicopter	22	machine gun/gunship
W-3 Sokół Falcon	Poland	Multipurpose utility helicopter	13	twin 23 mm GSz-23Ł cannon and four pylons for weapons / gunship platform
Mi-2 Hoplite	Poland	small, lightly armored transport helicopter	20	23 mm NS-23 gun, 7,62 mm machine gun and 2x 57 mm unguided rocket pods Mars-2. Optional 7,62 mm machine gun
HAL Dhruv Pole Star	India	utility helicopter	transferred in late 2006	anti-armour missiles, four air-to-air missiles or four rocket pods for 70 mm and 68 mm rockets
Bell 206 JetRanger	United States	multipurpose utility helicopter	6	machine gun and rocket launchers?
Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette III	France	light utility helicopter	6	two side-mounted machine guns

[edit] Serials and Markings

Myanmar national insignia (white triangle with yellow field in the center and borders in blue) 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 airplanes 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.

SA 316B Alouette III: dark green overall, large black serial on the boom: UB6101 (unit unknown).

UH-1H: camouflage colours unknown, serials reported to be 6201 through 6218 (unit unknown).

F27 Troopship: white overall, double black cheat line along the fuselage, black serial on the forward part of the fin: 5001 (unit unknown).

PC-6B: dark earth on light earth over, sky under, white serial on the rear fuselage: 50+04 (unit unknown).

PC-7: dark grey or dark olive green overall, black anti-glare panels in front of the cockpit, ruder checkered in black and yellow, serials in white, split by the national marking: 23+01 through 23+16 (two of original Swiss civil codes are also known: HB-HQA and HB-HQB), (Flying School).

PC-9: like above; serials unknown (unit unknown).

G-4 Super Galeb: dark olive drab over, sky under; white serial on the nose: 371, 376 (Fighter Training School/COIN Squadron).

F-7M: dark grey and dark green over, light blue underneath, national markings on the top of the fin and on rear fuselage (over the trailing edge); serial in White split by the national marking: 16+22.

A-5M: dark green/dark earth/sand over, sky under; black serial on the fin: 1503 (unit unknown, but could be the 1st Wing).

W-3: black or dark green overall, national marking on the fin, no serials visible.

MiG-29: "Russian" light blue overall, with "azur" blue and light Blue fields on upper surfaces; national markings on the fin and behind the cockpit; serial in Arabic characters applied in black on the fin, and repeated in Burmese characters of each side of the cockard: 27+09/2709.

K-8: white over, red under; wings in white with red wingtips, rudder checkered in yellow and black, black serials on the fin, repeated large around the national marking on the rear fuselage: 39+07 (Flying School).