Kim Jong-un watched the Air Force Flight Competition, and the North Korean Air Force rarely showed its family.
The five major services of the Korean People’s Army have always been the object of external attention. Compared with the Korean People’s Army and other services that often appear, the appearance rate of the Korean People’s Army Air Force is very low. However, according to Korean Central News Agency’s report on November 16th, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Council and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, watched the "Korean People’s Army Aviation and air defence forces Flight Commanders Combat Flight Technology Competition 2019". This event was initiated by Kim Jong-un five years ago, and it has also become a routine annual competition. Kim Jong-un hopes to further improve the flight skills and actual combat capabilities of flight commanders and combat pilots through competition competitions close to actual combat. Every flight competition, the top leader of North Korea will personally attend and give careful guidance. The purpose of this competition is to demonstrate the ability of air force fighters to destroy enemy targets and strike the ground. In this year’s air force flight competition, North Korea’s main model was publicly unveiled, and this mysterious air force once again entered the public eye.
MiG -29 (data map)
On November 16, Kim Jong-un took a group photo with the flight controllers who participated in the combat flight technology competition and achieved results. MiG -29 appeared in the photo as the background.
"Goshawk-1", the highest symbol of the Korean People’s Army Air Force, flew over the airport accompanied by air force fighters to review the flying troops.
After observing, Kim Jong-un said that North Korean pilots should fight with enemies armed to the teeth with great ideas and tactics. The victory or defeat of a battle is not determined by the combat data of weapons and equipment, but depends on what ideas and why you fight. The enemy who flaunts his technical superiority cannot overwhelm the superiority of the Korean People’s Army soldiers in political thought and fighting morality. Kim Jong-un also put forward the development direction of air force to develop Korean-style aviation weapons and equipment and contain the enemy’s display of aircraft technical advantages, and put forward the programmatic task of strengthening and developing the main air force.
As can be seen from the photos published by the official media of North Korea, MIG -29 is still the "apple of the eye" of the North Korean Air Force. Although the MIG -29 is designed to counter fighters including the American F-16, the backwardness of electronic equipment and other systems and short range have made it impossible to compete with its opponents. Previously, most of the upper parts of North Korea’s latest MiG -29 fighter were painted with dark green and the bottom was dark sky blue. At the end of January 2012, the MIG -29 was also shown in the commemorative photos taken by Kim Jong-un when he inspected the air force. From the sky, the color of the upper part of the plane is similar to that of the land, and from the ground up, the color of the bottom of the plane is similar to that of the blue sky, so the concealment performance of the plane is improved. In 2014, North Korea began to repaint the fighter plane, changing the original dark green on the upper part of the MIG -29 fighter plane into light gray with markings, which is what we see now.
MiG -29 fighter before painting
On April 17, 2014, Kim Jong-un inspected the Korean People’s Army Air Force and air defence forces’s No.1017th Army. He said that when he passed by the army, he made a surprise inspection to understand the flight training of fighter planes. At that time, Kim Jong-un also ordered the fighters on duty to take off and complete difficult and complicated air combat actions. The photo taken at that time was also based on MIG -29.
According to South Korean media reports in 2015, although the fighter planes of the North Korean Air Force are not as advanced as those of the South Korean Army, their number is already twice that of South Korea, and some old fighters will still pose a threat to South Korea. North Korean leaders have always stressed the importance of air combat, but reports from the North Korean media show that the strategy of the North Korean Air Force seems to be developing in the direction of ground attack. The North Korean media reported that Kim Jong-un praised the North Korean pilot’s "spirit of suicide bombing" and his passionate patriotism.
An -2 transport aircraft
Korean media said that North Korea has 300 An -2 transport planes and called them "indigenous steelmaking-class" stealth aircraft. An -2 transport plane is a two-wing transport plane developed by the former Soviet Union in the last century. It is simple to manufacture and low in cost. It has been widely used for spraying pesticides. Because of its wooden fuselage and cloth skin, it is not easy to be found by the Korean Air Force radar once an attack is launched. The DPRK also painted stealth paint for it, and modified the electronic instrument panel. In 2014, it also dispatched more than 10 An -2 transport planes to hold an exercise of airborne troops attacking Incheon Airport at night. Korean media said that what worries South Korea even more is that the An -2 transport plane equipped with rocket launchers and the Il -28 bomber can attack South Korea’s Bering Island and Yeonpyeong Island within 2-3 minutes after taking off from the North Korean Air Force Base. The Korean army should be alert to North Korea’s air force.
Compared with the Korean Air Force, which is equipped with a large number of third-generation aircraft, the old models of the Korean Air Force occupy the majority. The South Korean military even said, "Three days after the start of the war, South Korean fighters will be able to fly freely in North Korea’s airspace." Although the fighter plane has fallen far behind the times, the North Korean military’s flight contest may also be aimed at sending a signal to other countries, including the United States, that the Korean People’s Air Force is fully capable of defending the country.
Two days after observing the Air Force Flight Competition, on November 18th, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Council and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, instructed the Korean People’s Army Air Force and the air defence forces Sniper Division to conduct parachute training. According to Korean Central News Agency, Kim Jong-un instructed the training after receiving the report of the training plan from the observation center. Kim Jong-un said that the snipers landed very well. After receiving the sudden order, the brigade commander and the brigade political commissar took the lead and used their troops as gods. They personally led the troops to the front in strange areas, and their combat actions were very mature and impressive. They were all brave and reliable real soldiers. Kim Jong-un expressed great satisfaction with it.