Korean People's Army Air Force

Early years (1945–1949) The Korean People's Army Air Force began as the "Korean Aviation Society (조선 항공대)" in 1945. It was organized along the lines of flying clubs in the Soviet Union. In 1946, the society became a military organization and became an aviation division of the Korean People's Army (KPA). It became a branch of the army in its own right in November 1948. Training personnel for what was now known as the "Korean People's Air Force Air Corps" was a major hurdle, with the Soviets reporting in May 1950 that of the 120 trained pilots, only 32 were combat qualified. The only experienced pilots in North Korea before this were those who flew for the IJAAF. These pilots were however rejected by society and the regime. Nevertheless, on June 25, 1950, the KPAF started flying support missions for the Invasion of South Korea. captured by UN forces at Kimpo Airfield in September 1950. During the first-ever strike by carrier-borne jet aircraft on July 3, 1950, VF-51, from USS Valley Forge CV-45, claimed the first kill by a naval jet when an F9F-3 Panther shot down a KPAF Yak-9P. Although many North Korean pilots were experienced when they flew the MiG-15, the Soviets admitted that most were highly inexperienced. Post-Korean War intercepting a US Lockheed P-3 Orion, 2003, photographed by the US crew. The Korean People's Army would continue to receive new generations of Soviet fighters throughout the mid-late 1950s and into the early 1960s, culminating in the receipt of the first MiG-21s which arrived in 1963, and possibly earlier. During hostilites in the inter-Korean Demilitarised Zone later that decade, Korean People's Army Air Force MiG-21s were credited with shooting down an American RF-4C reconnaissance plane on August 31, 1967, an F-105D fighter five months later on January 14, 1968 and an F-4B fighter the following month on February 12. On January 23, 1968 a pair of MiG-21 fighters were involved in the first stages of the joint operation with the Korean People's Army Navy to capture the American surveillance ship USS Pueblo. The KPAAF has on occasion deployed abroad. It deployed a fighter squadron to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Kim Il Sung reportedly told the North Korean pilots "to fight in the war as if the Vietnamese sky were their own." North Korean personnel manned one MiG-21 company and two MiG-17 companies in the North Vietnamese fleet, providing a 50 percent increase to North Vietnam's fighter strength. Between 87 and 96 North Korean pilots served in the conflict, and were credited by North Vietnamese pilots with downing 26 American aircraft while taking 14 losses. In 1973, a North Korean flight of MiG-21s deployed to Bir Arida to help defend southern Egypt during the Yom Kippur War. The unit had four to six encounters with the Israelis from August through the end of the war. According to Shlomo Aloni, the last aerial engagement on the Egyptian front, which took place on 6 December, saw Israeli Air Force F-4s engage North Korean-piloted MiG-21s. The Israelis shot down one MiG and another was shot down by friendly fire from Egyptian air defenses. KPAAF pilots continued to fly Syrian MiG-21s throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. In 1990–91, North Korea activated four forward air bases near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). ==Organization==

Capabilities According to a 2021 report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the most modern assets of the KPAF are the MiG-29 and MiG-23, while the Su-25 ground attack and Ilyushin Il-28 bomber aircraft are also deemed by the DIA as having some capability. The KPAF also maintains obsolete types including the MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, and MiG-21. The DIA assesses that the North Koreans would be unable to prevail in combat against US forces "overwhelming advantages in power projection, strategic air superiority, and precision-guided standoff strike capability," and would face "considerable difficulty" against South Korean air defences, relying mostly on Antonov An-2 transports for inserting special forces into South Korea and UAVs for intelligence gathering and supplementing the air force ground attack capabilities. In 2024, Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command told reporters that North Korea is set to receive MiG-29 and Su-27 from Russia in exchange for troops for its invasion of Ukraine. Paparo also stated that while these are older fourth-generation fighters, they're still "formidable". The War Zone states that while it's unlikely that Russia will be able to transfer these aircraft on a short-term at least (with the Russian aerospace industry busy keeping the Russian Air Force fleets operational during the war in Ukraine), the delivery of these aircraft would provide a "modest − but badly needed − modernization" for the KPAF. In 2025, MiG 29 has launched air to air missile resembling AIM-7 Sparrow and PL-11 during air drills on May 15 along two types of glide bombs and air to air missile resembling AIM-120 AMRAAM and PL-12 were shown next to parked MiG-29. North Korea operates a wide variety of air defense equipment, from short-range MANPADS such as 9K34 Strela-3, 9K38 Igla and ZPU-4 heavy machine guns, high-altitude upgraded S-75 Dvina, to long-range SA-5 Gammon and Pongae-5 SAM systems and large-calibre AA artillery guns. North Korea has one of the densest air defence networks in the world. A large part of the ground attack aircraft are kept in heavily fortified hangars, some of which are capable of withstanding a nearby nuclear blast. Stealth capacity is known in the KPAF through researching in radar-absorbing paint and inventory deception. It has been noted that the North Korean Air Force operates a few MD-500 helicopters that were exported to North Korea by West German merchants through Soviet vessels in the 1980s. Several were seen equipped with Soviet AT-3 anti-tank missiles during a military parade commemorating 60 years since Korean War armistice. They later made another public appearance at the Wonsan Air Festival in which they were seen sporting the new green camouflage paint scheme that has also been incorporated on An-2s and Mi-17s that have also been displayed at the air show. The KPAAF possesses precision guided munitions such as Kh-25 and Kh-29 air to ground missiles along jamming pods such as SPS-141 for SAM suppression. At least some of Il-28's/H-5's bombers are capable of launching air launched variant of Kumsong-3 anti-ship cruise missiles with known flight tests done in 2008 and 2011. Ground launched coastal defense variant of Kumsong-3 has range of 240 kilometers. The KPAF still incorporates many of the original Soviet air tactics, as well as North Korean experience from the UN bombings during the Korean War. ==Personnel==

From 1978 to 1995, General Jo Myong-rok was the commander of the air force. In October 1995, he was promoted to vice-marshal and appointed Chief of the KPA General Political Bureau and a member of the Korean Workers' Party Central Military Committee. His place as commander of the Air Force was taken by Colonel General O Kum-chol. Annual flying hours The number of annual flying hours (AFH) per pilot is, like almost every other aspect of the KPAF, very hard to estimate. Most sources on the subject abstain from giving hard numbers, but all of them estimate the average annual flying hours per pilot as being 'low' to 'very low'. The number of annual flying hours is very important in estimating the individual skill and experience of the pilots of an air force: more annual flying hours suggests better trained pilots. Most estimates present a rather grim picture: AFH per pilot for the KPAF are said to be only 15 or 25 hours per pilot each year - comparable to the flying hours of air forces in ex-Soviet countries in the early 1990s. In comparison, most NATO fighter pilots fly at least 150 hours a year. Ground training, both in classrooms, on instructional airframes or in a flight simulator can only substitute for 'the real thing' to a certain degree, and the low number of modern jet trainers in the KPAF arsenal points to a very modest amount of flying time for the formation of new pilots. There are a number of possible explanations for the low AFH: concern over the aging of equipment, scarcity of spare parts - especially for the older aircraft - difficulties with worn airframes, fear of defection and the scarcity of fuel are all contributing factors. It is very likely however that some 'elite' pilots and regiments receive considerably more flying hours. Especially those equipped with modern aircraft and tasked with homeland defence - like the 57th regiment flying MiG-29s and the 60th regiment flying MiG-23s - are receiving multiple times the average AFH per pilot; however, aging equipment, the scarcity of fuel and the general economic crisis in North Korea will affect these regiments as well, and keep their AFH low compared to NATO AFH. Agence France-Presse reported on January 23, 2012, that the KPAF had conducted more flight training than average in 2011. The Chosun Ilbo reported on March 29, 2012, that the KPAF had dramatically increased the number of flights to 650 per day. Tongil News reported on July 20, 2013, that the KPAF's fighter jets and helicopters had conducted 700 sorties a day for 11 days as reported by a source in the South Korean government on March 13 after the Key Resolve military exercise started on March 11. Seven hundred hours of sorties is considered by the United States military as the capability to wage all-out war. == Structure ==

Following is a list of bases where North Korean Army Air Force aircraft are permanently based. Air bases ; Northwestern area (1st Air Combat Division, HQ Kaechon) } || 55th Air Fighter Wing (1 ACC) || Su-25K/Su-25UBK/Su-7BMKMiG-29/MiG-29UB ; West Coast and Pyongyang area (1st Air Combat Division) - HQ: Kaechon Pyongyang is also the location of HQ, KPAAF • Uiju - 24th Air Regiment {Bomber} (H-5/Il-28, MiG-21PFM) • Kaechon - 35th Air Regiment {Fighter} (J-6/MiG-19) • Onchon - 36th Air Regiment {Fighter} (J-6/MiG-19) • Sunchon - 55th Air Regiment {Attack} (Su-25K), 57th Air Regiment {Fighter} (MiG-29/UB) • Panghyon - 49th Air Regiment {Fighter Bomber} (J-5/MiG-17F, MiG-21PFM, Mi-2) • Pukchang - 58th Air Regiment {Fighter} (MiG-23ML/UM), 60th Air Regiment {Fighter Bomber} (MiG-21Bis), ?? Air Regiment {Fighter} (MIG-29) ; West coast and Pyongyang area (5th Transport Division) - HQ: Taechon • Taechon - ?? Air Regiment {Transport} (Y-5/An-2) • Kwaksan - ?? Air Regiment {Transport} (Y-5/An-2) • Kangdong - ?? Air Regiment {Bomber} (CJ-6/BT-6) • Sonchon - ?? Air Regiment {Helicopter} (Mi-2) • Pukchang East - 65th Air Regiment {Helicopter} (Mi-8T, Mi-26), 64th Air Regiment {Helicopter} (MD-500) • Pyongyang Sunan Intl - Special Service Air Transport Wing (KPAAF-CAAK) (Air Koryo) (Tu-134B/Tu-154B-2/Il-62M/Il-76MD/Il-18/An-24/An-148) • Mirim Airfield - ?? VIP Unit (Mi-17) This base serves as a light transport base and closed sometime in the 1990s, now used as a KPA training facility. ; DMZ area (3rd Air Combat Division) - HQ: Hwangju • Chunghwa - Headquarters, Air Defense and Combat Command • Taetan - 4th Air Regiment {Fighter Bomber} (J-5/MiG-17F, MiG-21PFM, Mi-2) • Nuchon-ni - 32nd Air Regiment {Fighter Bomber} (J-5/MiG-17, MiG-21PFM, Mi-2) • Kwail - 33rd Air Regiment {Fighter Bomber} (J-5/MiG-17F), 11th Air Regiment {Fighter Bomber} (J-5/MiG-17F) • Hwangju - 50th Air Regiment {Fighter} (MiG-21PFM) • Koksan - 86th Air Regiment {Attack} (Q-5A) • Ayang-ni - 63rd Air Regiment {Attack Helicopter} (Mi-24D) ; East Coast area (2nd Air Combat Division) - HQ: Toksan • Toksan - 56th Air Regiment {Fighter}(MiG-21PF/J-7/F-7) • Chanjin-Up - 25th Air Regiment {Bomber} (Il-28/H-5); ??th Air Regiment {Fighter} (MiG-21PFM) • Wonsan - 46th Air Regiment {Fighter}(MiG-21PFM, F-5), 66th Air Regiment {Helicopter} (Mi-14PL) • Kuum Ni - 71st Air Regiment {Fighter}(MiG-21PFM) • Hwangsuwon - 72nd Air Regiment {Fighter}(MiG-21PFM) ; East Coast area (6th Transport Division) - HQ: Sondok • Sondok - ?? Air Regiment {Transport} (Y-5/An-2) • Yonpo - ?? Air Regiment {Transport} (Y-5/An-2) • Manpo - ?? Air Regiment {Transport} (Y-5/An-2) • Kuktong - ?? Air Regiment {Transport} (Y-5/An-2) • Kowon - Air Transport Wing (6 TD) (Z-5/Mi-4/Mi-8/Mi-17) • Pakhon - Air Transport Wing (6 TD) (Z-5/Mi-4/Mi-8/Mi-17/Mi-2) ; Far Northeast area (8th Training Division) - HQ: Orang • Samiyon Airfield - ?? Training Regiment (F-5A) • Hyesan Airfield - unknown unit • Kilchu West + East - ?? Air Regiment {Helicopter Training} (Mi-2) • Orang - 41st Air Regiment {Fighter Training}(MiG-15UTI/J-2/MiG-15) • Sungam-Chonhjin - Kimchaek Air Force Academy (BT-6) • Kyongsong - Flight Officers School (BT-6) • Kang Da Ri Airfield - Underground runway near Wonsan, under construction. • Tongchŏn Airfield(MiG-21PF/J-7/F-7) • Inhung - Helipads (Mi-8/Ka-27 (possibly Ka-28/Ka-29/Ka-32)) () • Hamhŭng Airfield(MiG-21PF/J-7/F-7) • Sungam Airfield - Air Transport Wing (Y-5/An-2) • Riwon north Airfield - (MiG-15UTI/J-2/MiG-15) ==Aircraft==

Current inventory in 2003 is a Chinese built MiG-15 similar to this one Armament Air defence Military satellites Retired aircraft Aero L-39 Albatros, Ilyushin Il-10, Ilyushin Il-18, Ilyushin Il-28, Lavochkin La-9, Lavochkin La-11, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Mil Mi-1, Mil Mi-4, Nakajima Ki-43, Nanchang A-5C, Nanchang CJ-6, Polikarpov Po-2, Tupolev Tu-2, Yakovlev Yak-9P, Yakovlev Yak-18 ==Ranks and uniforms==

Ranks The Korean People's Air Force has five categories of ranks: general officers, senior officers, junior officers, non-commissioned officers, and airmen. Enlisted Officers Marshals Occasionally KPA Air Force officers are promoted above General of the Air Force. In that case, they wear an army-style uniform, since ranks from Vice-Marshal and above are not divided into army, navy and air force. Uniforms Generally as a separate service in the KPA, the service wears the same KPA uniforms but with air force blue peaked caps (especially for officers) or kepi-styled caps for men and berets for women, worn with their full dress uniforms. Pilots wear helmets and flight suits when on parade and when in flight duty while air defense personnel wear the same duty dress uniforms as their ground forces counterparts but with air force blue borders on the caps. == Defections ==

Due to the political condition of North Korea, several North Korean pilots from the KPAF defected with their jets. These incidents include: • On September 21, 1953, 21-year-old No Kum-sok, a senior lieutenant, flew his MiG-15bis across to the South and landed at Kimpo Air Base near Seoul. Considered an intelligence bonanza, since this fighter plane was then the best the Communist bloc had. No was awarded a sum of $100,000 ($ in dollars) and the right to reside in the United States. He was awarded American citizenship. • On August 5, 1960, a Shenyang J-5 landed at Kimpo, the second time a J-5 appeared in South Korea. This aircraft was kept by South Korea and was briefly flown in South Korean markings before being scrapped. • In February 1983, Lee Ung-pyong used a training exercise to defect and landed his Shenyang F-6C at an airfield in Seoul. According to the then common practice, he received a commission in the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF), eventually becoming a colonel and teaching at the South Korean academy until his death in 2002. He received a reward of 1.2 billion South Korean won. • On May 23, 1996, Captain Lee Chul-su defected with another Shenyang F-6C, number 529, to Suwon Air Base, South Korea. He reportedly left behind his wife and two children. Lee was rewarded 480 million South Korean Won (approx. 400 thousand US dollars). He is now a colonel in the ROKAF and is an academic instructor. ==See also==