North Korean Air Force Holds Inter-Squadron Competition and Air Defence Drills

Following the announcement that the United States and South Korea would commence air exercises originally planned as part of the Vigilant Ace drills, North Korean state media announced that the country’s Air Force conducted exercises of its own attended by the country’s military leadership. Various units from the Korean People’s Army Air Force reportedly competed against one another during a contest as part of the exercises. The backbone of the Korean fleet  is comprised of Soviet designs produced in the 1980s, including MiG-29, MiG-23 and MiG-21bis fighters and Su-25 attack jets. Older aircraft including MiG-19 fighters and Il-28 bombers are also in limited service primarily in a ground attack role.

The full composition of the Korean fleet remains a mystery, with North Korea making a number of arms purchases from Soviet successor states in the 1990s many of which were conducted in secret. The country further purchased a production line for MiG-29 fighters from Russia in the 1990s and began to manufacture fighters domestically by the middle of the decade, with the number built remaining unknown. Production lines had a capacity for approximately 5 aircraft every two years, meaning if the aircraft were being manufactured at full production rates the country could have multiple full strength MiG-29 squadrons in service. The fact that the majority of the country’s military bases and arms production facilities are located underground, including many of its airbases, means that even with extensive satellite coverage over the country the nature of its inventory is a mystery - and is likely to remain so indefinitely short of the outbreak of a full scale war.