Major E. Belov

Ground Forces (Land Forces) are the main branch of the armed forces Socialist Republic Vietnam (SRV) and the main "firepower" of the Vietnamese People's Army (VNA).

The SRV Armed Forces consist of a regular component - the Vietnamese People's Army (500 thousand people) and the troops of the Ministry public safety(30 thousand), as well as from the irregular - the people's militia and self-defense forces.

The formation of the ground forces in Vietnam (until 1954 the official name of the country was the Democratic Republic of Vietnam), initiated by Ho Chi Minh * in 1946, was carried out under the conditions of the struggle of the Vietnamese people for independence from the colonial rule of France. China was directly involved in their creation, which provided assistance to the republic with specialists, weapons and military equipment. The first formation of the ground forces of the future VNA - an infantry division - was deployed in 1949.

The Vietnamese Army play a key role both in maintaining internal political stability and in fulfilling tasks for the national defense of the state. According to the 2009 White Paper, the main tasks of this type of Armed Forces are: protection of the state system, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country; prevention of the outbreak of armed conflicts and wars; maintaining peace and stability in order to industrialize and develop the economy of the SRV. In addition, the ground forces are entrusted with the functions of "promoting sustainable economic growth of the state, fighting poverty and eliminating natural and man-made disasters."

The concept of using the ground forces of the VNA was formed taking into account the national military traditions, tactics and fundamentals of operational art used in the armed forces of the USSR and China, as well as the significant combat experience gained during the Vietnam War (1957-1975), the border conflict with the PRC (1979) and the war with Cambodia (1979-1989). Officers and soldiers Vietnamese army traditionally they are distinguished by high moral and psychological qualities and, as a result, an appropriate fighting spirit.

At present, the number of the ground forces of the Vietnamese People's Army is about 400 thousand people (60% of the total personnel of the armed forces). After a mobilization deployment, it can increase to 600 thousand. The military-trained reserve exceeds 1.5 million people.

According to their purpose, the ground forces of the VNA are divided into field and local. Operational management is entrusted to the Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnamese People's Army, who is in fact the commander of this branch of the armed forces.

Field troops (about 350 thousand people)- the most numerous component of the regular army. According to their capabilities, they are capable of conducting operations (combat actions) in any part of the country independently or in cooperation with formations of other types of the Armed Forces. The field troops are organizationally united into seven military districts, one command (capital) and four army corps of the reserve of the main command (subordinate directly to the chief of the general staff of the Armed Forces).

In the combat composition of the field troops there are: 61 divisions (of which only three are mechanized), 50 separate regiments of the combat arms ( special purpose, artillery, communications, etc.)? as well as parts and subdivisions of support.

Local troops (about 50 thousand people) are the first priority reserve. In a threatened period, they are re-staffed to wartime states and, after combat coordination, are able to perform tasks as intended (as a rule, in areas of permanent deployment). Organizationally military formations local troops were consolidated into separate regiments, battalions and companies. In peacetime, in administrative terms, these units and subunits are directly subordinate to military directorates (departments) local authorities authorities, and on issues of combat use - the headquarters of the military districts. They also include some enterprises of the military industry, as well as defense-economic formations.

The ground forces are equipped with weapons and military equipment (AME), mainly of Soviet (Russian) and Chinese production. In addition, there is a small amount of captured American weapons and military equipment left after the Vietnam War.

In service with the SV consist of more than 1,300 tanks (T-54, T-55, T-62, PT-76, T-59), about 300 infantry fighting vehicles (mainly BMP-1 and BMP-2), 2,500 armored combat vehicles ( BTR-50, BTR-60, BTR-152, BTR-40, BRDM, BRDM-2, Ml 13), over 9 thousand mortars of various calibers, 380 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS, BM-21 "Grad", BM -14, BM-13), more than 1,000 MANPADS (Strela-2M, Igla-1).

Artillery units of the ground forces are armed with more than 3 thousand field artillery pieces (155-mm cannons, 152-mm self-propelled howitzers (SG) "Akatsiya", 152-mm howitzers D-20, 130-mm guns M-46, 122-mm SG "Gvozdika ", 122-mm howitzers D-30, etc.), 3.8 thousand anti-tank artillery units (calibers 100, 85, 76 and 57 mm), over 3 thousand anti-aircraft artillery guns (ZSU-23-4" Shilka " , ZSU-23-2, 100-mm KS-19, 85-mm and 57-mm S-60 anti-aircraft guns, etc.).

The main unit of the ground forces of the Vietnamese People's Army is infantry division... Organizationally, it includes three regiments, as well as units of divisional subordination (medical and sanitary, motor transport, communications and engineer battalions, reconnaissance and repair companies). The infantry regiment has three infantry battalions and three divisions - artillery, anti-aircraft and mortar.

The number of personnel of a full-strength division, depending on the place of deployment, is from 5 to 12.5 thousand people. It is armed with up to 100 mortars, 40 anti-tank artillery guns, 60 anti-aircraft guns, 13 armored personnel carriers and six MLRS.

The highest combat capabilities in terms of firepower are possessed by the motorized infantry division of the ground forces. It includes three motorized infantry and one tank regiment. This formation is armed with more than 30 tanks, about 100 infantry fighting vehicles, 150 armored personnel carriers, six MLRS, 50 field artillery guns, 70 mortars, 20 anti-tank systems, 36 anti-tank artillery guns, 30 MANPADS, and 30 anti-aircraft guns.

Picking The land forces of the Vietnamese People's Army are carried out in accordance with the law on universal conscription, as well as on a contract basis. Military service is defined by the country's constitution as an "honorable duty", and the citizens of the SRV are obliged to "take part in the construction of the national defense." Call for military service
are subject to males between the ages of 18 and 25. Service life 18 months.

The officer staff of the VNA ground forces is recruited at the expense of persons who graduated from the military educational establishments Ministry of National Defense of the SRV. Recruitment there is carried out on a competitive basis from among civilians and military personnel under the age of 23 years. Preferential conditions for admission are provided to citizens who have completed military service on the islands of the Spratly archipelago, as well as representatives of national minorities (Tai, Myong, Khmer, etc.).

The technical equipment, training and high morale of the military personnel of the Vietnamese People's Army in general allow them to carry out the tasks assigned to them in full. However, as noted by Western military experts, the country's Armed Forces have a number of serious problems.

So, many types of weapons and military equipment The country's Armed Forces, and the ground forces in particular, are significantly outdated and require modernization or renewal (up to 50% of weapons and military equipment are faulty). In carrying out activities of operational and combat training, there is an insufficient level of training of command and technical personnel, low organization of interaction between command and control bodies of various combat arms, as well as weak skills of servicemen in the use of standard weapons.

TO urgent problems The continuing decline in the quality of the conscripts also applies (poor health, moral and physical unpreparedness for service). The tendency of an increase in the number of persons not covered by military registration (more than 40%) continues. In addition, the existing capabilities of the military education system in the country, as well as the current state of the educational material and technical base, do not meet modern requirements for the training of highly professional personnel.

The construction of the Vietnamese ground forces is carried out in accordance with the plan for the reform of the armed forces, calculated for the period until 2020. The main attention is paid to maintaining the combat capabilities of formations and units at a level that allows for the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

In the course of the reforms, it is planned to complete measures to improve the organizational and staff structure of this type of Armed Forces with their subsequent rearmament with modern technology. The issue of modernizing armored vehicles is acute. In the area of ​​arms and military equipment purchases, it is envisaged to acquire, first of all, communication equipment, anti-tank complexes, engineering and automotive equipment, as well as ammunition for small arms and artillery weapons.

In the course of combat training, the main attention is paid to the development of issues of organizing and conducting defensive operations, combat actions to repel an enemy air attack, as well as improving interaction with formations of other power structures when performing tasks to ensure internal political stability.

The plan for reforming the ground forces provides for the following: increasing the effectiveness of the conducted exercises; improvement of the organization of management of units and subdivisions; practicing tactics and methods of conducting combat operations in conditions of the use of high-precision weapons by the enemy; improving the system of personnel training for participation in measures to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters.

It is also planned to increase the level of mobilization readiness of the reserve components of ground forces. For this, uniform standards have been developed for the staffing of squadron formations and units (in divisions - no more than 100 people, in regiments and brigades - 50).

As a result of the implementation of the program for the development of the land forces of the VNA, it is planned to create a mobile, compact type of armed forces equipped with modern weapons and military equipment, which will be able to effectively perform external and internal functions to protect the state.

Emergence of new challenges and threats national security the country determines the desire of the Vietnamese leadership to create a rapid reaction force as part of the ground forces. This component will be formed on the basis of special purpose units.

Thus, despite the existing financial and organizational difficulties, the ground forces of the Vietnamese People's Army are the most combat-ready among the states of Southeast Asia. The problem of insufficient technical equipment of this type of armed forces is solved by maintaining a large number of personnel, intensive combat training, as well as through ongoing measures aimed at developing a high ideological motivation for servicemen to defend the country and preserve its territorial integrity.

* Artist of Vietnamese and International communist movement and the national liberation movement, chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Foreign military review. 2015, No. 2, P.47-52

What is the Vietnam Army yesterday and today?

Vietnam, a small South Asian country, has experienced many bloody wars in its history. The main threat to it has always been the mighty northern neighbor, China. And the beginning of the XXI century confirms this. A well-trained and well-equipped army for Vietnam is not a luxury, but a dire necessity. The country is called unique - only it was able to withstand the numerous wars of the 20th century - during the whole quarter of a century it defeated France, the USA and China. Today is the most strong army in Southeast Asia.

The first detachment of the Vietnamese army was formed on December 22, 1944, under the command of Vo Nguyen Giap. He numbered only 34 fighters and had a very modest weaponry. In the next few days, he was attacked by French troops and captured 2 combat posts.

During next year scattered liberation groups joined the detachment. By May 1945, the military unit, which at that time had more than a thousand fighters, became known as the Vietnam Liberation Army. By that time, schools for the training of command personnel were already operating.

The First Indochina War brought invaluable experience and almost complete rearmament. In 1947, the first infantry regiment was formed, and in 1949 the regular troops were renamed and received their current name - Vietnamese People's Army... Then the draft order of its formation was introduced.

In the 50s of the last century, an artillery unit, naval forces, border troops, a tank unit and an air force were successively formed.

Modern structure of VNA

The modern Vietnamese army consists of three main groups - the Main Force, the Local Force, and the People's Defense Force. The types of troops that are in the structure are ground forces, border, naval and air forces and air defense. The naval forces have units - marines and coast guards.

The whole country is divided into 9 military districts. Each district includes infantry and artillery divisions as well as tank brigades and engineering troops... 2nd Military District - Northwest Vietnam, in addition to the named troops, includes an air defense brigade and defense units of industrial facilities. Two military districts are in the northwest, two in the north, one in Central Vietnam and two in the south of the country. The command for the defense of the capital stands out separately. It houses an infantry division, an armored battalion, and an artillery regiment.

There are 4 separate parts - these are the hulls. They are evenly distributed across the districts. The corps also includes infantry, artillery, tank units and engineering regiments. The buildings have their own names - "Inevitable Victory", "Fragrant River", "Central Highlands" and "Mekong Delta". In connection with the permanent dispute with China over the Paracel Islands, the first two corps are now in the North and in the Hanoi region.

Subordination and hierarchy

The Vietnamese have no concept of "Supreme Commander-in-Chief." The army is wholly and completely subordinate to the Central Military Commission, which is headed by general secretary the communist party. The BNA charter states that it is under the "absolute, undivided and all-pervading leadership of the Party." The deputy head of the Central Military Commission is the highest military rank (the only one in the country) - the Minister of Defense.

The Commission also includes the Prime Minister, the President, Deputy Defense Ministers, as well as the head of the Main Political Directorate of the Army, which, in fact, is a separate organization. It is headed by the second-ranked military man in the army. In addition, the members of the Commission are chiefs of general staff and commanders of military districts.

Military ranks roughly correspond to world armies, but have their own Vietnamese name. The last such rank is colonel. After him, the titles of rank correspond to the generally accepted ones - senior colonel, junior, middle, senior and great general. There is only one great person in the country, and that is the Minister of Defense. In all units there is a political commissar who corresponds in rank to the commander.

Service life in VNA is 2 years. Girls can serve in the army today. Defense spending in Vietnam is 5% of GDP.

Equipment and military imports

The main problem of the Vietnamese army is outdated equipment. V last years thanks to stable GDP growth, Vietnam began to rearm. Vietnam's # 1 traditional arms supplier was at first Soviet Union, and now Russia. By increasing its defense spending, Vietnam has risen to 7th place in the ratings of the largest arms buyers in the world. Of course, many suppliers are ready to compete for such a tasty morsel. So, in May 2016, the United States finally lifted the embargo on the supply of weapons to the Vietnamese People's Army. The ban on the sale of weapons to her has been in effect in the United States for almost 50 years.

This step by the American authorities is quite capable of revolutionizing the world arms market, depending on which direction one of its largest players, Vietnam, turns. Russia is currently the largest arms supplier to Vietnam (up to 90%). The remaining 10% is shared by other sellers. In recent years, the Vietnamese military have been working on issues of military cooperation with Israel (supply of equipment for sappers) and a number of other countries.

Tank corps are equipped with long-obsolete vehicles of the early 80s, T-54s in the early 2000s were modernized with the help of Israel. BMPs have also not been updated since the end of the war with America.

More attention is being paid to the Air Force and Navy due to the same dispute over islands in the South China Sea.

In recent years, the Vietnamese began replacing the MiG-21 and SU-22 in their arsenal with the SU-27 and SU-30 aircraft. Air defense systems are equipped with S-300 complexes.

In the last decade, Vietnam has ordered several frigates of the Gepard-3.9 project from Russia. Two of them have already been delivered to the customer, the rest are being tested. Currently, the country's navy is armed with 5 submarines, 11 corvettes, 7 frigates and more than 100 other ships.

We will not list all the weapons of the VNA. It is important that it is being modernized and increasing its combat effectiveness. The Vietnamese have never been aggressors, but they did not give up an inch of their land either. And experience shows that weapons must always be kept "polished".

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The Vietnamese army began to acquire its modern look in 1944. Then the first regular detachments were created under the command of local generals. Despite the fact that the first detachment consisted of only 34 soldiers, it is with him that the history of the armed forces of Vietnam begins.

Armed forces of Vietnam during the first Indochina war

The Indo-China War, which France waged in the hope of preserving its colonies in Southeast Asia, lasted from 1946 to 1954. It became one of the bloodiest in Asia and influenced not only the political alignment in this region, but also the internal state of affairs of the French Republic.

Also, this armed conflict had a significant impact on the formation of the Vietnamese army. Since the young state could not have resisted the military machine of the European empire without outside help, local leaders turned to China for help.

It was thanks to the help of the Chinese communists that the young government managed to defend its independence. However, France was also not alone in its struggle, as it received substantial financial support from the UK, as well as military and material assistance from the USA.

Thus, despite the difficulties that the newly created army had to face, this conflict served as a serious impetus for the development of the Vietnamese army. All subsequent changes were based on the model of the Soviet armed forces.

Structuring the Vietnamese Armed Forces

The armed forces of independent Vietnam began to form immediately after the French colonial corps was partially withdrawn from Indochina. Despite the fact that 80 years have passed since the creation of the Vietnamese army, it still retains a very archaic structure. All units of the Vietnamese armed forces are divided into three large groups: main forces, local forces, and people's self-defense forces. Each of these groups has its own reserve of military personnel.

There are four types of troops in the country's weapons forces. These include the land, border guards, navy, air force, and air defense.

All the country's Armed Forces are divided into nine districts, as well as a separate Capital Defense Command. The Vietnamese army has numerous infantry divisions, infantry regiments, tank regiments, an air defense brigade, engineering brigades, special defense units of industrial facilities and artillery brigades.

Features of the geographical location of the army

There is a very common misconception about the size of Vietnam. Quite often this country is called a small Asian state. However, the length of Vietnam from north to south reaches 2,700 km, and the population is close to 93,000,000.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the country has the largest army in Southeast Asia. As already mentioned, the Vietnamese army was created with the direct participation of the PRC. At the same time, the Chinese Armed Forces were formed with the support of the USSR. In the sixties of the 20th century, military-technical cooperation intensified between Vietnam and the USSR.

In 1979, an agreement was signed between Vietnam and the Soviet Union for a long-term lease of the naval base at Cam Ranh, which was formerly owned by the US Navy. Thus, the Soviet Union received a strategically important facility in Southeast Asia, and the Vietnamese government gained access to the military-technical means of its northern ally. This cooperation turned out to be quite fruitful for both parties.

Vietnamese army after the collapse of the USSR

After the Soviet Union ceased to exist, Vietnam was forced to reconsider the direction of its foreign policy... Having lost the main partner in military-technical cooperation and economic assistance, the authorities of the Asian republic were forced to undertake a number of market reforms.

However, despite all the changes, the samples of Soviet military equipment and Chinese weapons are still in service with the Vietnamese People's Army. The main battle tank of Vietnam is considered the T-55, which was delivered to the country in 1973. In total, the Soviet Union handed over to the state about 600 such tanks. Cooperation with Russia in the area of ​​arms supplies is much smaller in volume. As of 2018 Russian Federation delivered 64 modern T-90 tanks to Vietnam.

Army technical equipment

By and large, all of Vietnam's weapons, including those supplied to the PRC, are of Soviet origin. Although China supplied a large amount of equipment, all of it was developed on the basis of Soviet models.

So, the Chinese tank Type-59, which became widespread in Asia, was created in the 1950s on the basis of Soviet tank T-54. Until 1988, this unit served as the basis of not only the Vietnamese, but also the Chinese army.

The Vietnamese People's Army is armed with three types of medium tanks. The T-50 and T-62 vehicles were supplied by the USSR. There are also light tanks in the army. The most legendary of these is the PT-76.

Legendary amphibious tank

In 1951, a light amphibious tank was adopted in the Soviet Union. Over the next 16 years, more than 3,000 of these machines were produced and modernized. Also, several modifications were created based on it. Despite the fact that the tank was very effective in combat, it was subsequently decided to replace it with infantry fighting vehicles. However, about 100 units were in service. Russian army up to 2004. Approximately 2,000 PT-76 vehicles were exported, including to Vietnam.

This tank entered the history of the army thanks to the Vietnam War. Not least thanks to this machine, the inhabitants of the state managed to defend the independence of foreign policy from the United States. In terms of characters, the most legendary commander of the Vietnam War was Van Tien Dung, who flawlessly planned and successfully implemented the Vietnamese army's spring offensive in 1975. This offensive was the reason why the Americans were forced to end the conflict.

Vietnam Navy

The birthday of the Vietnamese naval forces is considered May 7, 1955. It was on this day that the decision was made to create the country's Coastal Defense. Initially, the main task of the fleet was only patrolling coastal areas and waterways in the country.

It should be noted that an effective fleet is one of the foundations of national security, since the length of Vietnam's coastline is 3444 km. In addition, the naval forces are of great non-military importance, as they carry out rescue missions and humanitarian support in the event of natural disasters, which occur quite often in this country.

In its modern form, the People's Navy of Vietnam provides protection for sovereignty, including economic. Vietnamese Navy Provides Security trade routes both for our economy and for foreign partners. In recent years, more and more efforts have been made to modernize this type of troops.

Technical equipment of the Navy

As in the case of the ground forces, the backbone of the navy is samples of Soviet technology. So the fleet has six multipurpose submarines "Varshavyanka". The total value of this contract for Vietnam was $ 1.8 billion.

Also in service are frigates and corvettes built at the Zelenodolsk plant named after Gorky. In the course of the fleet modernization program, the government of the country bought warships from Russia for $ 350,000,000.

It is worth noting that the conduct of hostilities in modern conditions impossible without naval aviation. However, the basis of the naval aviation of the People's Republic is cooperation with countries such as Indonesia and Canada.

Tactically, missile forces are an important part of the country's coastal defense. Given the length of the coastline, Vietnam is forced to keep a close eye on the fortifications. Mainly, the troops of this unit operate Russian and Indian equipment. Russia supplies to Vietnam the Bastion-P missile systems, which have established themselves as one of the most effective missile systems in the world.

Vietnam Air Force

Despite the fact that the air force did not play a decisive role during the Vietnam War, considerable attention was paid to their subsequent development.

Starting in the seventies of the XX century, the Soviet Union began to actively arm Vietnam with aircraft of its own production. Also in service with the Air Force were captured samples of American aircraft captured from the army of South Vietnam.

On May 31, 1977, a decision was made to create an air defense force. However, in 1999, the air defense was merged with air forces... Before the collapse of the USSR, Vietnam could afford to maintain a large number of combat aircraft. Until 1991, more than 700 aircraft, 120 helicopters, and 158 missile systems were in service. However, after the Soviet Union was liquidated, Vietnam could no longer independently provide maintenance for such a large amount of military equipment. That is why, by the end of the nineties, the aircraft fleet was significantly reduced.

Today, the command of the Vietnamese Air Force faces a serious task to modernize this type of troops. In the near future, it is planned to replace outdated samples of Soviet technology with modern ones, produced and developed already in Russia. Preliminary contracts for the supply of SU-34 and Yak-130 aircraft have been concluded.

The country's armed forces are distinguished by a high spirit of soldiers and at the same time an archaic structure

The Armed Forces (AF) of Vietnam are the largest in Southeast Asia and traditionally have a very high combat capability (in the West, Vietnam is called the "Prussia of Southeast Asia"). In just a quarter of a century (from 1954 to 1979), they won victories over France, the United States and China, which has no precedents in modern history.

A significant drawback of the Vietnamese Armed Forces at the present time is the archaic structure and, most importantly, a very high proportion of outdated equipment. In the ground forces, it is close to 100%. In recent years, the Air Force and Navy have begun a gradual renewal of military equipment.

The main supplier of arms to Vietnam was the USSR, now it is Russia. Israel became the second most important exporter of arms to Vietnam. Small-scale purchases of aircraft are made in Poland, Spain, Canada, combat boats - in Australia. A certain amount of captured American equipment captured in the first half of the 1970s, as well as Chinese equipment obtained in the late 60s, still remains in service. With the help of Russia and Israel, their own military-industrial complex is being created. First of all, enterprises for the production of small arms and rocket weapons are being built, shipbuilding is developing.

The ground forces include seven military districts, the Metropolitan Command, and four army corps. The most combat-ready are the units that make up the corps. In total, the seven districts and the Capital Command have 21 infantry and seven military construction divisions, three artillery, three air defense, five engineering brigades, three infantry, four tank, two artillery and one communications regiment. As part of four army corps - one mechanized and 11 infantry divisions, two tank, two artillery, two engineering brigades, one tank, two special forces, two artillery, two air defense, one communications, two engineering regiments.

The amount of equipment in the ground forces is known approximately, since almost all of it is very outdated. Because of this, it is not always clear which part of the available equipment retains its combat effectiveness. Therefore, not exact values ​​are given below, but ranges of values.

In service there are up to 100 launchers (PU) OTR R-17 and up to 2 thousand missiles of this type.

The tank park consists of obsolete vehicles. The most "new" of them are the T-62, of which there are up to 220 units. The most massive are the T-54 and T-55 (from 850 to 990, some of the vehicles were modernized with the help of Israel) and their Chinese counterparts Ture 59 (360 units). Numerous light tanks are also in service - up to 300 Soviet PT-76s, 50-100 North Korean PT-85s, up to Chinese 300 Tour 62 and up to 500 Tour 63.

There are 50-200 BRDM-1, 50-480 BRDM-2, 150-600 BMP-1 and BMP-2 each. The number of armored personnel carriers reaches 3 thousand. These are 200-500 American M113, up to 300 V-100, up to 200 V-150, 100-200 Israeli RAM Mk3, up to 80 Chinese Type 63, 400-800 Soviet BTR-50, 500 BTR-60, up to 200 BTR-70 , 10-15 Russian BTR-80.

In service there are 100-150 Soviet self-propelled guns 2S1 (122 mm) and 30-70 2S3 (155 mm). There are 100 American self-propelled guns M107 (175 mm) in storage. Towed guns - 450-900 Soviet D-30 (122 mm), 250-500 M-46 (130 mm), 350-700 D-20 (152 mm), 100 American M114 (155 mm). Mortars - 200 PM-41 (82 mm), 200 mountain M1938 (107 mm), 200 PM-43 (120 mm), 100 M-160 (160 mm). MLRS - 350 BM-21 (122 mm) may remain in service with up to 360 Chinese Type 63 (107 mm).

There are several thousand Soviet ATGMs "Malyutka", "Fagot", "Konkurs" and up to 100 self-propelled anti-tank missile systems SU-100.

The Air Force has three air divisions and six air defense divisions, including 11 aviation, 16 anti-aircraft missile and seven anti-aircraft artillery regiments.

In service there are 74 obsolete MiG-21 fighters (60 MiG-21bis, 14 combat training MiG-21UM; at least three bis in storage), 38 equally old Su-22M3 / M4 attack aircraft, 11 modern Su-27 fighters ( including five combat training Su-27UBK), 28 newest Su-30MK2 fighter-bombers.

Transport aviation is weak and outdated, it includes 12 An-2, 24 An-26 (17 more in storage), 11 Polish M-28s. Training aircraft - 28 Yak-52, 26 Czech L-39.

In service there are 19 Mi-24 combat helicopters (six more in storage), 36 multipurpose and transport helicopters - five American UH-1H (five more in storage), two Ka-32, 17 Mi-8, 12 Mi-17.

Vietnam has a very powerful ground-based air defense system, although a significant part of the equipment in it is outdated. There are nine divisions of the Kvadrat air defense system (36 launchers), 50 divisions of the S-75 air defense system (300 launchers), 25 divisions of the S-125 air defense missile system (100 launchers), two divisions of the S-300PS air defense missile system (24 launchers), 20 Strela- ten". In the near future, four to six battalions "Buk-M2", 8-12 ZRPK "Pantsir-S1" are to enter service. There are also at least 100 old Strela-2 MANPADS and 20 newest Igla-S, 100 ZSU-23-4M, about 3 thousand anti-aircraft guns - 2500 ZU-23-2 (23 mm), 260 M1939 (37 mm ), 250 С-60 (57 mm).

The country's navy includes two newest Russian submarines, project 636 (four more are under construction), seven frigates (patrol ships) - two newest Russian project 11661, five old Soviet ones, project 159. A corvette of the BPS-500 type has been built in Vietnam itself (created on the basis of the Soviet IPC pr. 1241P).

The basis of the striking power of the Vietnamese Navy is still Soviet and Russian-built missile boats - eight old pr. 205M, eight modern pr. 1241, incl. four with the latest anti-ship missiles "Uranus" (project 12418). In Vietnam, it is planned to build eight more boats, project 12418 with the Uranium anti-ship missiles, and these missiles will also be produced in Vietnam. Remain in service with five hydrofoil torpedo boats pr. 206M.

There is a significant number of patrol boats - six newest Russian project 10412, two own TT-400TR (built according to the Ukrainian project), 15 Soviet project 1400M, 10 Australian Stolcraft type. In addition, the Coast Guard has four old Soviet boats, project 206 (torpedo boats with removed torpedo tubes) and 32 boats of their own construction - 14 TT-120, 12 TT-200, six TT-400.

The Navy has eight Soviet minesweepers (four pr. 1265, two pr. 266, two pr. 1258) and five TDK (3 Polish pr. 773, 2 American type LST-542).

Naval and Coast Guard aviation has five base patrol aircraft (two Canadian DHC-6s, three Spanish C-212s) and nine helicopters (seven Russian Ka-28s, two European EC225s).

The coastal defense is armed with two divisions (10 launchers) of the newest Russian SCRC "Onyx".

In general, the Vietnamese Armed Forces have a very significant potential. However, they need a radical technical upgrade, especially given the fact that the PLA is their main (if not the only) potential adversary.

The situation in Russia's relations with Vietnam is very similar to relations with India. Vietnam is our ideal ally, thanks to the long-standing and strong all-round ties between Moscow and Hanoi and the potential of the Vietnamese Armed Forces described above. The most important foreign policy task of Moscow should have long ago become the creation of a military-political bloc Russia-India-Vietnam with the aim of containing China. Delhi and Hanoi would go to the creation of such a bloc with great pleasure, they really need a strong ally AGAINST China. Alas, we are forcing both of these countries an alliance with China, which is why both of them begin to "migrate" towards Washington. In the early 2000s, Hanoi asked Russia to leave the Cam Ranh base only and exclusively because it ceased to see us as a deterrent towards China. Now Moscow is courting Hanoi to reclaim Cam Ranh. That would be really helpful. But the conditions in Hanoi have not changed, and the Vietnamese are absolutely right in this.

As in the case with India, fairly good Russian-Vietnamese relations are based only on military-technical cooperation. So far there is hope for him.

Alexander Khramchikhin - Deputy Director of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis

Vietnamese military establishment called the People's Army of Vietnam (NAV) and consist of the ground forces, navy, air force, border guards and coast guards.

The date of the creation of the NAV is December 22, 1944, when under the leadership of Vo Nguyen Giap, the "armed propaganda group" of the Viet Minh was created.
Then there were decades of revolutionary war - first against the French colonialists (1945-1954), then against South Vietnam and the Americans who supported it (1954-1975).

The wars continued even after the withdrawal of the Americans and the fall of Saigon until the very beginning of the 90s - against the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, various rebels in Laos and in the south of Vietnam.
Finally, from the Chinese invasion of northern Vietnam in early 1979, in an attempt to save the crumbling allied Khmer Rouge regime, the border conflict with the PRC continued until the very normalization in 1991. And now it is the large northern neighbor that is the main probable enemy of Vietnam.

According to the charter of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the army is under the "absolute, undivided and all-pervading leadership" of the Party (it is called simply Dang in Vietnamese).
The leadership is carried out by the Central Military Commission, headed by the general secretary of the party. His deputy is the Vietnamese Defense Minister, the highest-ranking Vietnamese military.

The commission includes the president and prime minister of the country, deputy defense ministers, the head of the Main Political Directorate of the Army (this post is the second-ranked military one) and his deputies, the chief of staff, commanders of the branches of the armed forces and military districts.

The Vietnamese People's Army remains the most powerful army in Southeast Asia, currently numbering 482,000 regular forces and 3 million local ones. The country spends 5% of GDP on defense. Served in Vietnam for 2 years. Now girls can also serve.

Weapons to Vietnam were traditionally supplied by the USSR / Russia, in recent years Israeli weapons have also been purchased for sappers, issues of military cooperation with other countries are being worked out.

The rank system corresponds to world traditions, except that all military ranks have original Vietnamese names, for example, colonel is "phuong ta".
(this is generally characteristic of the Vietnamese language, where it is customary to invent your own words for foreign things, and not to borrow foreign language terms).
Only the highest ranks are called in their own way - in the NAV, after the colonel, there is a senior colonel, a junior general, a middle general, a senior general and a great general. The latter in Vietnam can only be one and he holds the post of defense minister.
Ranks are identical in Ground Force, Air Force, Border Guard, and Coast Guard. Only in the fleet are admirals going.

There is overlap at all levels, there is a commander and a political commissar, usually on an equal footing military ranks... At the same time, political commissars are subordinate not to the Ministry of Defense, but to the completely independent Main Political Directorate of the Army.

Ground forces do not have a separate command, all ground units, army corps, military districts and various special forces like sappers are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense.

The country's territory is divided into 9 military districts.
The main forces of the army are concentrated in 4 corps, one is poetically called the Corps of Inevitable Victory, the other three in geography - the Perfume River (Huong), the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta. The first two corps are now deployed in the area of ​​the capital and near the border with China, the deployment of the other two corresponds to their name.
The headquarters of the corps are located in Tamdyep (Ninh Binh Province), Bakjiang, Pleiku and Zian (Byn Duong Province).

Each corps includes 3 infantry divisions, a tank unit, separate regiments of air defense, artillery, engineers, and signalmen. Special forces sappers are subordinate to their own command.
Each infantry division consists of three infantry regiments
All parts are numbered, and by the number it is easy to establish its origin. Regiments and divisions formed in the north of Vietnam have three-digit numbers, one or two numbers in the number are the former units of the NLF (Viet Cong). The names of the parts also include the awards assigned to them.

Six infantry divisions formed in the early 50s during the war with the French colonialists - 304th, 308th, 312th, 316th, 320th and 325th - bear the honorary names of "iron and steel divisions" and have colorful names. So the 316th, whose fighters hoisted the flag over, bears the full name of the 316th Order of Ho Chi Minh Miscanthus Division.
(Miscanthus is such an ornamental cereal, a terrible weed that practically cannot be removed.)

The tank park has not been updated since the early 80s, although at the beginning of the 21st century the Israelis modernized the Vietnamese T-54s. The same applies to infantry fighting vehicles, the local forces are still using the M-113 left over from the South Vietnamese army.

The main tank is the T-62, assembled in two (202nd and 203rd) tank brigades and one separate (273rd) tank regiment. 201st tank brigade equipped with T-54, 405th - PT-76. Also, a large number of tanks of various modifications are in storage and in local units.

In recent years, Vietnam has made the development of the fleet and aviation a priority, due to the aggravation of the situation around the disputed islands in the South China Sea (called the East in Vietnam).

The Naval Air Force now has 3 air divisions and 6 air defense divisions. The main aircraft for many years were the MiG-21 and Su-22, but in recent years, Vietnam has been replacing them with the Su-27 and Su-30 purchased in Russia.

S-300 complexes are purchased for air defense.

The Vietnamese fleet has 7 frigates, 11 corvettes, 5 submarines and about a hundred other ships. In the coming years, Vietnam will receive 2 more Cheetahs from Russian shipyards.

Negotiations are underway with the Dutch on the construction of the UDC. The main base of the Vietnamese fleet is Haiphong.