Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force

Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force
Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force
	Emblem of Lao People's Armed Forces
Founded	1975; 50 years ago
Country	Laos
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	37 aircraft
Part of	Lao People's Armed Forces
Headquarters	Vientiane
Commanders
Chief of Air Force	Major General Khamlek Sengphachanh
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Helicopter	Bell UH-1H, Harbin Z-9, Kamov Ka-32, Mil Mi-17
Trainer	Yakovlev Yak-130
Transport	Xian MA600

The Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force (LPLAAF) is the air force of Laos.^[2]

History

The present-day LPLAAF is descended from the Aviation Laotienne, which was established by the French and later became the Royal Lao Air Force. Pathet Lao guerrilla forces began to operate a few aircraft from 1960, as did another rebel group led by Kong Le. Kong Le forces were later re-incorporated into the Royal Lao Air Force. The communist take-over in 1975 resulted in the adoption of the present title.^[3]

A military co-operation agreement with Russia in 1997 resulted in 12 Mil Mi-17 (second hand) helicopters entering service in mid-1999 to follow on from previous deliveries of Mi-8s. SAM systems also entered service such as the SA-3 'Goa'.^[4]

Bases

The LPLAAF operates from two main bases, Vientiane and Phonsavan, with another three bases supported by detachments from the main units. Apart from the main military air bases, there are also a number of smaller airports and airfields around the country which are frequently used by the air force and the semi-military airline Lao Airlines. In 1961 Laos had 25 airstrips capable of landing a C-47.^[5]

Aircraft

Current inventory

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Variant	In service	Notes
Transport
Xian MA600	China	Transport		1^[6]
Antonov An-26	Soviet Union	Transport		1^[6]
Helicopters
Mil Mi-17	Soviet Union	Transport / Utility	Mi-17/172	17^[6]
Bell UH-1	United States	Utility	UH-1H	4^[6]
Harbin Z-9	China	Utility		4^[6]
Kamov Ka-27	Soviet Union	Utility	Ka-32	2^[6]
Trainer aircraft
Yakovlev Yak-130	Russia	Advanced trainer		3	6 on order.^[6] 1 crashed in 2024.^[7]
Hongdu K-8	China	Jet trainer		4^[6]

References

^ "Senior General meets Laotian Air Force Chief". 23 January 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2010-12-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force". aeroflight.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
^ armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php
^ "Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force". aeroflight.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "World Air Forces 2025". Flightglobal Insight. 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
^ https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/449697