Forty-five years after China's self-defense and counterattack against Vietnam, many of Vietnam's top generals are still not convinced.
Lieutenant General Nguyen Huu Khan, former deputy general of the Vietnamese General Staff, once mentioned the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979 in an interview, saying:
"The PLA is not as well equipped as the Vietnamese army, and if the PLA air force enters the war, they will have to accept a higher price than the US military."
[Before the Chinese People's Liberation Army participated in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam]
At that time, in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the mainland's air force did not fully participate in the war, so what was the reason that Lieutenant Nguyen Huu Khan would have such a view?
The performance of the U.S. military in the War of Resistance Against the United States in Vietnam
In 1961, for the next 14 years, the U.S. military used all but nuclear weapons against Vietnam, which had a great impact on Vietnam's economic development.
However, the strange thing is that the US Air Force, which was the largest air military force in the world at that time, actually suffered a huge blow in Vietnam.
[During the U.S.-Vietnam War, the South Vietnamese Army and American Fighters]
The U.S. Air Force, which had more than 2,100 warplanes, was lost in the skies over Vietnam, and the F-4 fighter plane, the United States' proudest fighter plane in World War II, was also shot down in Vietnam, and then the United States was defeated.
Is it true that the US air military power is inferior to Vietnam?
The reason for Vietnam's success in resisting the United States
As a country of just over 330,000 square kilometers, Vietnam's land area is about the same as that of Yunnan Province on the mainland.
Map of Vietnam
Moreover, before Vietnam faced the United States, it was colonized by France for a long time, and it was also invaded by Japan, so it is impossible to say that their scientific and technological development can reach the sky, and the reason for Vietnam's success in resisting the United States is related to China and the Soviet Union.
After Vietnam was invaded, he asked China for help, and Liu Shaoqi once said: "Whatever you need, we have here, we will try our best to help you." ”
At that time, more than 6 million people in China marched in solidarity with Vietnam, and the country sent more than 320,000 people to the battlefield in Vietnam.
[Beijing citizens march in Tiananmen Square in solidarity with Vietnam]
In addition to the railway troops, road construction troops, and national defense engineering construction teams, the most important thing is that there is also an air defense combat unit.
China has nine groups of antiaircraft artillery units rushed to Vietnam, more than 150,000 antiaircraft artillery combat elites, in Vietnam and the United States 2,153 encounters, shot down and damaged 3,315 US fighters.
In addition, the Soviet Union extended a helping hand to Vietnam.
At that time, the Soviet Union and the United States were already incompatible, and Vietnam had virtually become a place of contention between the two countries.
[Tanks previously supported by the Soviet Union in Vietnam]
The Soviet Union sent a large number of military experts to build a complete air defense system for Vietnam, and also supported a large number of armaments such as SAM missiles and armored vehicles, including the F-4 fighter plane that Vietnam shot down in 1965.
It can be said that Vietnam's victory against the United States is not only due to its own stubborn resistance to the United States, but also due to the assistance of various countries.
In the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, why did the Chinese Air Force not participate in the war
In the entire self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the mainland's air force mainly used transport aviation to provide material supplies for the Chinese troops on the battlefield in Vietnam.
At that time, the mainland air force had A-37 attack planes and F-5 fighters captured during the anti-American period;
[A-37 attack aircraft]
And because of the close relationship with the Soviet Union, we also had a large number of Soviet weapons, and by 1979, the scale of the mainland's air force was already very large.
[In 1979, J-5 and J-6 on standby at an airport in southwest China]
But even though the mainland's air force units had already entered a state of combat readiness and were on standby at any time, in the end they did not involve the air force in the battle.
The reason is indeed as Nguyen Huu Kang said, the strength of the Chinese Air Force at that time was indeed inferior to Vietnam.
Although it has a large number of American and Soviet weapons, due to the influence of the special period of ten years, the overall quality of the air force pilots is almost not up to standard, and the main force of the continental air force is still J-6, and the overall hit probability of the pilots is less than 1%.
The point is that Vietnam was also equipped with J-6s in the past, and has a thorough understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of this type of fighter, and Vietnam has long since updated its air power because of more than 20 years of assistance from the Soviet Union.
[In 1979, the Vietnamese Air Force displayed the MiG-21PF and J-5]
And because the relationship between China and the Soviet Union had broken down at that time, after the self-defense and counterattack war against Vietnam began, the Soviet Union began to frantically "transfuse" Vietnam, and on the other hand, Eastern Europe also "fed" Vietnam with advanced fighters such as the MiG-21 to save their lives.
So in general, if the mainland air force really enters the Vietnam battlefield, it may indeed pay an extremely high price, and it can only be done carefully.
postscript
However, Vietnam's advantage may only be in air defense, and comparing China's weaknesses with their best advantage is quite a feeling of farming and horse racing.
And although the Air Force has not been dispatched, China's air defense forces are still not to be underestimated.
[Ground-to-air missile battalion retouching photos]
In the war of self-defense and counterattack against Vietnam, the mainland's antiaircraft guns and ground-to-air missiles on the border defense made Vietnam dare not step into China's airspace even a single step.
However, it is also because of the previous caution that according to the 2023 "China Military Power Report" of the United States, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has more than 3,150 fighters, including more than 1,700 third-generation aircraft, which does not include drones and other models.
The entry into service of new weapons and equipment such as the J-20, Y-20, J-16, J-10C, H-6K, Air Police-500, and Hongqi-9 air defense missiles has greatly enhanced the military strength of China's air force.
In addition, we have more than 427,000 air force talents, and in the "Nationality Military Competition-2021", the Chinese Air Force won two championships in fighter crews and military transport crews, and two runners-up in bomber crews and long-range aviation groups.
["International Military Competition-2021" "Aviation Darts" Project Closing Ceremony and Award Ceremony]
China's conventional military strength has ranked first in Asia and second in the world, and the only air force in the world that can catch our eyes is the US Air Force.
Resources:
[1] Cai Renzhao on the battlefield failure and in-depth reform of the U.S. military: Vietnam War Analysis and People's Network Power Forum
[2] The Vietnam War: Historical Review and Enlightenment
[3] MiG-21 Operational History: Weapons Knowledge Magazine, No. 1, 2002
[4] "International Military Competition-2021" "Aviation Darts" Project Closed The Chinese Air Force Team Won Two First Places Xinhua News Agency
[5] Forty years of war and peace, the heroes remain unchanged Xinmin Weekly