The “Hanoi – Dien Bien Phu in the air” Victory on December 1972 was decisive in forcing the U.S. government to sign the Paris Agreements, in which the U.S. had to withdraw troops, thus creating favourable conditions for our Army and people to liberate the South and unify our country. This victory has various invaluable lessons, especially the effective and creative leadership of the Party and the outstanding development of military art on the air-to-air front. To apply those lessons to the cause of national defence in the new situation, the Air Defence - Air Force (AD-AF) needs to continue to promote its tradition, unite, and proactively overcome difficulties, thus successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks.

At the end of 1972, to avoid the risk of a defeat in Vietnam, U.S. President R. Nixon decided to conduct the strategic aerial bombing “Linebacker II”, which aimed at destroying Hanoi, Hai Phong, and nearby provinces with B-52 strategic bombers. In 12 days and nights, 193 B-52 bombers (accounting for nearly 50% of the strategic air force), more than 1000 tactical aircraft of all kinds from 6 aircraft carriers and bases in Thailand, and the most modern weapons, equipment, and means of electronic warfare at that time were mobilised by the U.S. imperialists to conduct the raid.

Firmly grasping the enemy’s plot, following the instructions of the Central Military Commission and the General Staff, the AD-AF, together with the North Vietnamese army and people, prepared well in combat readiness and determined to defeat the U.S. strategic aerial bombing. One notable example of this preparation was in the first battle happened on the night of 18^th December, the three air defence forces actively observed, detected, alerted, and fought together to shot down 6 aircraft and capture 7 American pilots.

Promoting the results of the first battle, our army and people continued to fight tenaciously, destroying numerous enemy aircraft. On the night of 20^th and early 21^st December, the Hanoi Air Defence Missile shot down 7 B-52s (5 fell on the spot). Then, on the night of 26^th and early 27^th December, the Northern army and people shot down 8 B-52s and 10 tactical aircraft, while Hanoi alone shot down 5 B-52s in just more than one hour (4 fell on the spot). That was the decisive battle that broke the spirit and will of the American imperialists. With bravery, intelligence, spirit, and high determination, in 12 days and nights of fierce fighting, the AD-AF along with the Northern Vietnamese army and people shot down 81 aircraft, including 34 B-52s (accounting for 17.5% of mobilised B-52s) and another 47 tactical aircraft (including 5 F-111s). Suffering huge losses in air power, especially the B-52 “Stratofortress”, on the morning of 30^th December, U.S. President Nixon had to end the raid and stop bombing from the 20^th parallel, and accept to reconvene the Paris Conference on ending the war in Vietnam. To summarise, the U.S. strategic aerial bombing on Northern Vietnam was a complete failure.

This was the heaviest defeat in the history of war for the U.S. Air Force, which was the most modern force in the world at that time. Our army and people, the core of which was the AD-AF, have inherited the tradition of fighting the enemy to defend the country, promoted the Vietnamese bravery and wisdom in the Ho Chi Minh era, and defeated the U.S. strategy air raid, making the historic “Hanoi -Dien Bien Phu in the air” Victory. Half a century has passed, yet the meaning and stature of the Victory have left invaluable lessons, especially the ones on the effective leadership, thinking, and strategic vision of the Party, whose leader was President Ho Chi Minh; on organisation and force building, fostering the will to fight and the determination to win for the AD-AF; on building the people’s air-defence posture, promoting the synergy of the whole nation. Therefore, these lessons should be studied and applied in the cause of national construction and defence.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits and encourages cadres and pilots of Regiment 937, Division 370 in April 2022

Currently, the international and regional security and political situation, especially in the East Sea, is complicated and unpredictable, with several potential destabilising factors. The methods of conducting wars and aerial attacks have rarely seen any changes, yet there are new types of war: air blockade, no-fly-zone establishment, proxy war, cyber warfare, etc., and modern air-fire weapons and means. Those issues put very high demands on the task of protecting the national airspace, requiring the AD-AF to continue promoting the tradition, especially the meaning and lessons deduced from the “Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air” Victory on December 1972 in order to build a comprehensively strong AD-AF Service that can successfully fulfil all assigned tasks. The issues that need to be dealt with are mentioned as follows:

1. Building the AD-AF with solid political will and absolute loyalty to the Party, the State and the people, thus firmly protecting the national sky. Accordingly, it is necessary to continue to thoroughly grasp and successfully implement the Party’s policy on building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern” AD-AF; importance is attached to building a strong political, ideological, ethical, organisational, and cadre basis, in which strong political construction serves as a basis to improve the overall quality and combat strength of the Service, ensuring its unity of will and action. Strongly renovating the contents, forms, and methods to improve the quality of political education and ideological leadership in association with the implementation of Conclusion No.01-KL/TW issued on 18^th May 2021 of the Politburo on continuing to implement Directive No.05-CT/TW of the Politburo on promoting the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style and the Resolution of the 4^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (13^th tenure) on Party building and rectification. Building the AD-AF with solid political will, being steadfast in Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the revolutionary goals, and ideals; being absolutely loyal to the Party, the State, and the people; trusting in the power of weapons, equipment, and the art of AD-AF warfare. Focusing on education on the traditions of the AD-AF, arousing the pride of each soldier, building and fostering the will and determination to overcome difficulties to successfully fulfil the task of protecting the national sky. Besides, clearly identifying partners and adversaries, thus not being off-guard against the plots and countermeasures of hostile forces; actively defeating the plots and tricks of “peaceful evolution” and internal “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, thus maintaining the Party’s ideology battleground in the AD-AF.

2. Continuing to adjust the AD-AF in the direction of “elite, compact, strong, and mobile”. Importance is attached to thoroughly grasping and implementing measures to realise Resolution No.05-NQ/TW issued on 17^th January 2022 by the Politburo, Resolution 230-NQ/QUTW issued on 2^nd April 2022 by the Central Military Commission on leading the reorganisation of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) in the 2021 - 2030 period and beyond and the Scheme on adjusting the organisation and staffing of the Service in the 2019 - 2025 period with a vision to 2030, in line with its functions, tasks, weapons, equipment, the art of AD-AF operation in order to meet the demands of being “expertise” in specialisation, “compact and light” in organisation and staffing, “powerful” in combat strength, and “mobile” in combat. Continuing to implement the guidelines, plans, and roadmaps to build a “revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern” AD-AF Service; adjust the AD-AF to make it suitable to the new organisation and staffing of the Army, the strategic plan on the battlefields, and the determination to protect the Fatherland, in order to protect the strategic national newly built and newly developed constructions in the process of national industrialisation, modernisation, and renewal. Additionally, continuing to study to build the core force and to develop the forces of cyber warfare, electronic warfare, technical reconnaissance, etc. Moreover, clearly defining the functions and tasks of agencies, especially those at Service level, to improve work efficiency.

3. Renovating and improving the quality of training, qualifications, and combat readiness. Thoroughly grasping and effectively implementing Conclusion No.60-KL/QUTW issued on 18^th January 2019 by the Central Military Commission on continuing to implement Resolution No.765-NQ/QUTW on “improving the quality of training in the 2013 - 2020 period and beyond”. Extensively and comprehensively renovating training under the motto of being “basic, practical, firm, safe, and economical”, with importance attached to synchronous, intensive, and modern training. Combining training with imparting combat experience to soldiers. Organise comprehensive training in politics, military, logistics, etc. for subjects and forces, in which, AD-AF training is the centre and air-to-air operation is the core. Focusing on improving the qualifications, combat readiness, and capability of fighting, guarding, and protecting the national sky for the Air Defence force while organising flight training, ensuring flight safety, and search and rescue for the Air Force. Organising more training according to different situations, plan, and practices, being close to the characteristics, environments, and requirements of modern warfare; combining combat drills and joint operations with international cooperation in search and rescue training as well as the capability to respond to non-traditional security challenges. Strictly maintaining the regimes of guarding and managing the airspace and sea areas, being ready to fight, promptly and effectively handling airborne situations, not to be passive and stunned at the tactical, campaign, and strategic levels. Stepping up foreign defence diplomacy with other countries and partners in order to learn from their experiences and methods. Moreover, creating an important basis for “preventing the risks of war and conflict early and from afar”, thus firmly protecting the Fatherland.  

4. Continuing to modernise weapons, equipment, and means to meet the requirements of protecting the national sky. Reviewing and implementing measures to implement the goals, tasks, solutions, plans, and roadmaps identified in the resolutions, conclusions, and plans of the Politburo, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence on leading the technical work in the new situation, in which importance is attached to Resolution No.15-NQ/TW issued on 1^st August 2021 by the Politburo on ensuring weapons and equipment for the VPA to 2025, adequately, timely, and synchronously ensuring modern weapons, equipment, and means for various tasks. Effectively implementing resolutions, directives, and projects of the Service on procurement of weapons, equipment, and technical means; strictly implementing the regulations on “exporting, importing, and procuring defence goods” as well as regulations on acceptance and assurance of supplies and equipment. Actively seeking and choosing reputable partners to negotiate and procure weapons, equipment, and technical means. Closely combining procurement and technology transfer of modern weapons, equipment, and specialised means with cooperation with defence centres, research institutes, military factories, and application of military science and technology advances to improve the capability in research, production, repair, exploitation, and use of new and high-tech weapons and equipment, thus ensuring that the AD-AF is capable and ready to fulfil all assigned tasks in modern warfare conditions. Continuing to effectively implement the Campaign 50 on “Good, sustainable, safe, and economical management and exploitation of weapons and technical equipment and Traffic safety”, creating a significant change in technical assurance and traffic safety in the AD-AF Service.

5. Studying and developing the art of AD-AF warfare. To meet the requirements of modern warfare and contribute to the overall development of Vietnam’s military art, functional agencies of the AD-AF Service need to closely coordinate with relevant forces to study and develop the art of AD-AF warfare. Importance is attached to closely combining the building of the battle posture and the management and protection of the AD-AF with the posture of defensive areas in provinces and cities, military regions, and strategic mobile units of the Ministry of National Defence; combining the national AD-AF posture with the AD-AF posture of the Army and the people, etc. creating synergy in the management and firm protection of our airspace sovereignty and border in strategic areas and the whole country. Studying and building AD-AF posture in every direction of the battlefield; re-adjusting the plans and combat determination, and strategic arrangement of forces, air defence battlefield, airfields, dual-use constructions, etc. to protect assigned targets, especially the new ones. Focusing on studying, developing, and improving the automation system for headquarters at all levels and the work of commanding, direction, combat, aerial reconnaissance, etc. ensuring consistency, synchronisation, secrecy, and stability, thus meeting the requirements of continuous, superior, and direct command (in case of emergency). Continuing to study and develop methods of combat and operations for radar, anti-aircraft missile, electronic warfare, fighter forces, etc. and methods of coordination between these forces, being suitable for our available weapons, equipment, means, organisation and staffing, goals and tasks as well as the enemy’s new combat methods and requirements of modern warfare.

Besides, it is necessary to well maintain regularity training and discipline management; train, foster, and develop high-quality human resources; constantly consolidate and build an all-people national defence posture, a national air-defence posture as well as a people’s air-defence posture to firmly protect the national sky.

Although the “Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air” Victory ended 50 years ago, its meaning, posture, and lessons are still playing an important role in the cause of Army building, national defence consolidation and Fatherland protection. Therefore, the AD-AF needs to continue to inherit, develop, and enrich the Vietnamese military art, thus fulfilling the noble historical mission of firmly protecting our sacred national sky entrusted by the Party, the State, and the people.

Lt. Gen. VU VAN KHA, Acting Commander of the Air Defence – Air Force