Mongolian Air Force

Mongolian Air Force Монгол Улсын Агаарын Довтолгооноос Хамгаалах Цэргийн Хүчин
Soyombo - traditional Mongolian ornament. Used in yellow as an aircraft marking.
Active	May 25, 1925 – present
Country	Mongolia
Branch	Mongolian Armed Forces
Type	Air Force
Role	Reconnaissance, close air support
Size	800 personnel[1]
Engagements	Battles of Khalkhin Gol Soviet–Japanese border conflicts Soviet invasion of Manchuria Battle of Baitag Bogd
Insignia
Roundel

Mongolian Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Mongolian Armed Forces.

History

On May 25, 1925 a Junkers F.13 entered service as the first aircraft in Mongolian civil and military aviation.^[2] By 1935 Soviet aircraft were based in the country. In May 1937 the air force was renamed the Mongolian People's Republic Air Corps. During 1939–1945 the Soviets delivered Polikarpov I-15s, Polikarpov I-16s, Yak-9s and Ilyushin Il-2s. By 1966 the first SA-2 SAM units entered service, and the air force was renamed the Air Force of the Mongolian People's Republic. The MiG-15UTI and MiG-17 the first combat jet aircraft in the Mongolian inventory, entered service in 1970 and by the mid-1970s was joined by MiG-21s, Mi-8s and Ka-26s.

Zhugderdemidiyn Gurragcha, the first Mongolian to fly into space, was born on 05 December 1947, in the Gurvan-Bulak settlement of Bulgan Province, into the family of a cattle-breeder. He graduated from a military school of aircraft technicians in the Soviet Union. In 1972 he was enrolled at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy. After graduating from the Academy, he worked as an aircraft equipment engineer in an air squadron of the Mongolian People's Army. In 1978, Jugderdemidiyn Gurragchaa started training at Gagarin cosmonauts' training center and completed a course of training under the Intercosmos program. His flight with Vladimir Dzhanibekov on Soyuz 39 as a Research Cosmonaut, launched 22 March 1981, lasted 7 days, 20 hours, 42 minutes, 3 seconds. He was later Deputy Chief of central board of defense, Chief of a scientific institute in Ulan Bator; and eventually Mongolian Sectretary of Defence.

The Civil Air Transport Administration, responsible for Mongolian Airlines (MIAT), was thought to be affiliated with the air force. All airline pilots had military ranks, and they flew Soviet-built transport aircraft on crop dusting, forest and steppe fire patrol, and air ambulance missions. They also provided mail and passenger service on 38,400 kilometers of domestic routes as well as on international routes to Irkutsk and Beijing, the latter inaugurated in 1986.

After the end of the Cold War and the advent of the Democratic Revolution, the air force was effectively grounded due to a lack of fuel and spare parts. However, the government has been trying to revive the air force since 2001. The current Armed Forces maintains an Air Forces Defense Command (Агаарын довтолгооноос хамгаалах цэргийн командлал), under the command of the General Staff. The country has the goal of developing a full air force in the future.^[3]

Due to a complete lack of resources, as of 2006 Mongolia did not anticipate being able to reform its flying Air Force in the foreseeable future. However, as air defense is part of the Air Force, the US was pursuing specific training line items in this field as well as air-related fields that may support peacekeeping deployments and operations (For example, slots to the US Army ADA officer basic course, tarmac security, and cargo loadplanning).

Overview

Russia's 2008 decision to provide to Mongolia around $120 million worth of conventional weapons and other military equipment, including MI-24 attack helicopters and possibly two MiG-29 fighter jets, has drawn renewed attention to the bilateral relationship. Although the terms of the deal were not initially clear, it would be a combination of grant aid and low-interest loans.^[4]

In 2011, the Ministry of Defense announced that they would buy MiG-29s from Russia by the end of the year.^[5]

In 2007 – 2011 all of MiG-21s are "Reduced".^[6][7][8]

In October 2012 the Ministry of Defense "Returned" Airbus A310-300 to MIAT Mongolian Airlines.^[9]

In 2013 Mongolian Air Force is looking at buying three C-130J transport airplanes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin.^[10]

Markings

The Mongolian Air Force's marking is yellow bordered red 5 point star bearing a yellow soyonbo. The top of the soyonbo in the Air Force marking is not a flame, but a yellow 5-pointed star and two eyes and center line are not yellow but black.^[4]

Air Defense Forces

Soviet strategic defense was the responsibility of the PVO Strany (Anti-air Defense of the Country). In addition to the forces directly assigned to it, during the Cold War the Soviet PVO Strany could call on the services of the air defense elements of the Soviet general purpose forces. Moreover, each of the Eastern European countries of the Warsaw Pact had a separate national system equipped almost exclusively with Soviet materiel and organized in much the same manner as an Air Defense District [ADD]. For all practical purposes these systems constituted an extension of the Soviet system. During the mid-1960s the USSR assisted the People’s Republic of Mongolia in setting up an air defense system, which also was closely coordinated with the PVO.

Today, in time of peace and war, the air defense forces are to safeguard the inviolability of air the frontiers of the country and to defend its economic and administrative centers and other vitally important regions from enemy attack.

Aircraft inventory

Photo	Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Attack Helicopter
	Mil Mi-24 Hind	Soviet Union	Attack helicopter	Mi-24V/D	11[11]	Ground support/Anti tank
Transport Helicopter
	Mil Mi-8 Hip	Soviet Union	Transport helicopter	Mi-8T/MT	11[12]	Transport
	Mil Mi-171 Hip	Russia	Transport helicopter	Mi-171E	2[12]	Transport

Air Defense

Photo	Name	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
SAM
	S-75 Dvina	Soviet Union	Strategic SAM system	S-75 Dvina	unknown number[13]	SAM[14]
	S-125 Pechora-2M	Russia	Strategic SAM system	Pechora-2M	2 launchers[12]	75 missiles "5V27"[13]
	9K31 Strela-1	Soviet Union	Vehicle-mounted SAM system	9K31 Strela-1	unknown number[15][16]
	Strela-2	Soviet Union	Man portable SAM launcher	Strela-2	250[12]	1971-1983 received 1250[13]
Air Defence Artillery (about 150+[12] )
	ZPU-4	Soviet Union	Anti-aircraft machine gun	ZPU-4	unknown number[12]
	ZU-23-2	Soviet Union	Anti-Aircraft Twin Autocannon	ZU-23-2	unknown number[12]
	ZSU-23-4 "Shilka"	Soviet Union	Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun	ZSU-23-4	unknown number[17][18]
	S-60	Soviet Union	Autocannon	57 mm S-60	unknown number[12]
	61-K	Soviet Union	Air defense gun	37 mm M1939	unknown number[19]

Aircraft inventory (planned to buy)

Photo	Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Planned	Comments
	Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules	United States	Tactical airlifter	C-130J	3[20]
	Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum	Soviet Union	Multirole fighter	MiG-29	5[21]
	Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten	Russia	Advanced trainer	Yak-130	1[22]

References