Chapter Headings:
INTRODUCTION
BEFORE 1975
REVOLUTION AND REORGANIZATION
OPERATIONS
FIGHTERS
TRAINING
HELICOPTERS
TRANSPORTS
THE FUTURE

TRANSPORTS

By the end of the war in 1975, the transport fleet fleet consisted of captured Douglas C-47s and about nine Fairchild C-123K Providers. The RLAF had been the recipient of both the C-47 transport and the AC-47 gunship variant. Some of the latter had been returned to their original cargo configuration in 1973 and 1974. It is estimated that between 15 and 20 C-47/AC-47s were taken over by the LPLAAF. Ten Fairchild C-123K Providers had been delivered to the RLAF between May and November 1973. Two of these aircraft, including s/n "671" (the former 54-0671) found its way to the Royal Thai AF in 1974 as L4k-20/19.

The fleet of the national carrier, Royal Air Lao, Douglas DC-3s, Douglas DC-4s, as well as a Curtiss C-46D could supply further airlift capacity when, and if needed. The fleet of transport aircraft was decimated in an unexpected way, when, on March 24, 1976, a brief but violent storm destroyed or damaged several aircraft at Wattay. Among the Royal Air Lao aircraft destroyed were one DC-3 (XW-TAF c/n 20338), three DC-4s (XW-PND c/n 7460, XW-PNF c/n 10393 and XW-PNI c/n 10420), and a solitary C-46D (RDPL-34040 c/n 22232). One of the DC-4s may have been operated by the LPAF on an as needed basis as a kind of "Air Force One". The C-46D may have been repairable, as it was registered as N9265Y on September 4, 1981 to an owner at Glendale, CA. However, the US registration was not taken up. It is unknown if the LPLAAF suffered any losses due to storm damage. However, one C-47 was flown to Thailand shortly after the end of the war.

The surviving C-47s and C-123K Providers were supplemented in 1977 by four Antonov An-24RV Cokes and three An-26 Curls. A Vickers Viscount, c/n 294, replaced the C-54 as "Air Force One." One of the An-26 Curls, s/n RPDL-34037, was lost on September 1, 1979, when it force landed on a Royal Thai Army airfield in Utharadit province. The pilots had become lost during a flight from Moscow to Vientiane. A total of 74 people were on board the An-26, of which six made up the crew, 62 school girls and six parents. All of the crew and passengers were sent back to Laos by bus. It is not known if the An-26 was returned, nor the extent of damage to the aircraft, if any. The C-47s and C-123Ks were withdrawn from service during the mid-'eighties. Lack of spares, airframe fatigue problems as well as a wish to standardize on Soviet-supplied aircraft were factors resulting in the retirement of the US built transport aircraft. The last two C-123Ks (RDPL-34088 and -34089) were noted in 1986, in service with Lao Aviation. As late as 1999, three C-123Ks were reported as being in service with the LPAF. This is, in all probability, without foundation.

In 1979, the new national carrier Lao Aviation was formed. Its first equipment were An-24RVs transferred from the LPLAAF, which had received four An-26 Curls from the Soviet Union. A fifth An-26 was later supplied to the LPLAAF. Although details are lacking, it appears that the available fleet of Lao Aviation was shared with the LPLAAF, supplementing LPLAAF An-26 Curls whenever needed. A solitary Antonov An-32 "Cline", RDPL-34049, has been reported in LPLAAF service. However, no confirmed sightings of the An-32 has been reported. Beginning in 1977, about ten Antonov An-2 Colts have been delivered to Laos. One was flown to Thailand by its crew, but the An-2 was duly returned to Laos. Considering the excellent STOL performance of the An-2, they have seen sterling service as liaison and light transport aircraft. The Colts are able to use small airstrips, known as Lima Sites, of which about 300 were completed before 1973. At least four An-2s are currently in service, of which two have been flown by Lao Aviation.

Two Yakovlev Yak-40 Codlings were delivered in 1978, for use as VIP transports. As with the An-24RVs/An-26s, the pair of Yak-40s may have been used by Lao Aviation as well. The Yak-40s were supplemented in early 1998 by an Antonov An-74TK-100 Coaler. The STOL jet, registered as RPDL-34018, is most probably operated solely by the LPLAAF. It was noted at Wattay on April 14, 1998. A heavy blow to the LPLAAF occurred just one and a half month later, on May 25, 1998, when a Yak-40, (RPDL-34001) crashed into the jungle while on a flight from Vientiane to Xiang Khouang. All 26 onboard, including a Vietnamese military delegation, were killed. Apparently, at the time of its crash the call-sign was ZPX-001.

A total of six An-24s and five An-26s were delivered to the LPLAAF. All of them have been withdrawn from use. One An-24 was noted at Ponsavan during September 2003, apparently withdrawn from use, while several others have been noted at Wattay in various degrees of decay. Five Chinese built Y-7-100Cs have been delivered, the first arriving in 1991. These Y-7-100Cs are improved licence produced versions of the venerable An-24. At least one of the Y-7s has been withdrawn from use, RDPL-34119 being noted as stored (without engines) at Wattay in early 2002. All of the Y-7's have been withdrawn from regular Lao Airlines services. Beginning in 1994, a total of seven Harbin Y-12-II's were delivered to Lao Aviation, supplementing, and eventually replacing the An-24/An-26s. Three of the Y-12-II's have been written off in crashes, and two are currently stored at Wattay.

THE FUTURE

The age of the current equipment as well as a lack of training has turned the Lao People's Air Force into a force in decline. The capabilities of the armed forces, including its air component, are limited. The limited resources available are spent on maintaining the transport and helicopter fleet. Ties with Vietnam and the VPAF are strong, due to the mutual security pact. In June 2003, Russia decided to write off 70 %, 882 million dollars, of the Lao Soviet era debt. The remaining USD 378 million will be paid over a period of 33 years. Two months later, Russia offered to assist in modernizing the Lao armed forces. This offer included both the supply of equipment and training programmes. Surely, the present Lao leadership are giving serious thought to this issue.

However, it appears as there is no current replacement for the few surviving MiG-21s. It is possible that the most likely replacement aircraft to the current MiG-21s are not dedicated air defence interceptors such as MiG-29 Fulcrums or Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers, but rather the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground attack aircraft, or a variant of the Czech Aero L-39 Albatros, both of which are readily available on the second hand market. But, the current state of the LPLAAF makes it questionable if the MiG-21 Fishbeds will be replaced at all in the near future. As Laos currently has no clearly defined threat against its territorial borders, it can be argued if the LPLAAF will ever receive the financial resources to replace its MiG-21s. If a conflict, however unlikely in the current economical and political climate, ever arises with Thailand or Myanmar, the mutual security pact with Vietnam would most probably see Vietnamese forces, including VPAF Air Defence fighters such as Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers being deployed in and over Laos.

Back to first page