Fighter Ground Attack Of The Myanmar Air Force

Chengdu F-7M

Chengdu F-7M of the Myanmar Air Force (photo : Aeroflight)

The F-7M Airguard (a Chinese reverse-engineered MiG-21F-13) was ordered in 1990, with the first batch of 30 arriving in 1991. The first unit to receive the F-7M was the No. 1 Fighter Squadron at Hmawbi AB (No. 501 Air Base), which attained IOC on 3 May 1991 with 10 F-7Ms and two FT-7s. A second batch of 30 F-7Ms was ordered in November 1994. The exact number of F-7Ms delivered is unclear, as one source quotes 54 (including two-seat FT-7Ms). Thirty-six aircraft, both single-seaters and two-seaters, were upgraded in 1997 by Israeli companies. An additional batch of F-7Ms is said to have been delivered sometime after 1997. However, these were not upgraded.

NAMC A-5M

NAMC A-5M of the Myanmar Air Force (photo : Airliners)

Twenty-four delivered in 1993-1994, with an additional 24 being ordered in November 1994. One source states 42 as being delivered to Myanmar. In TL service, the A-5M has suffered badly, with no less than 14 being written off in accidents since the type's introduction into service. Since 1995, six are reported to have been lost in combat. The latest known fatal accident to befall an A-5M occurred on 15 October 2002 near Meiktila. As is the case with the Chengdu F-7Ms, problems with low serviceability due to poor build workmanship and lack of spares abound. Twenty-two are said to remain in service

Soko G-4 Super Galeb

Soko G-4 Super Galeb of the Myanmar Air Force (photo : Aeroflight)

Some sources indicate that only six, s/ns 371 to 376 were delivered. One source indicates that six were delivered in early 1991, with six more following later the same year. However, the deliveries were halted when the first Balkans War erupted, and ceased after the SOKO plant in the town of Mostar became part of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The SOKOs flew their first missions in March 1991, when five bombed and strafed a fortified Karen village near the Thai border.

Problems with obtaining engine spares were temporarily solved in the mid-1990s when spare Rolls-Royce Viper Mk 632-46 turbojet engines were obtained from Great Britain.