Mongolian Air Force

The Mongolian Air Force (Монгол Улсын Зэвсэгт хүчний Агаарын цэрэг) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Mongolian Armed Forces.

Mongolian Air Force
Монгол Улсын Зэвсэгт хүчний Агаарын цэрэг
The Mongolian Air Force's emblem[1]
FoundedMay 25, 1925
Country Mongolia
TypeAir force
RoleAerial warfare
Size1500 personnel[2]
Part of Mongolian Armed Forces
EngagementsBattles of Khalkhin Gol
Soviet–Japanese border conflicts
Soviet invasion of Manchuria
Battle of Baitag Bogd
Commanders
CommanderBrigadier General Ochir Enkhbayar[3]
Chief of StaffBrigadier General B. Batbayar[4]
Notable
commanders		Hamza Zaisanov[5][6]
Insignia
Roundel[7]
Former roundel
(1949–1992)
Former fin flash[8]
(1949–1992)

History

Early years and WWII

On May 25, 1925 a Junkers F.13 entered service as the first aircraft in Mongolian civil and military aviation.[9] 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.

Cold War

By 1966 the first S-75 Dvina 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 25 MiG-21s, Mi-8s and Ka-26s. Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa, the first Mongolian to fly into space, was born on 5 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 became the head of a scientific institute in Ulan Bator and eventually Mongolian Minister 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.

Since 1989

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. 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 United States Army Air Defense Artillery Branch officer basic course, tarmac security, and cargo load planning).

Modern air force

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.[10]

Air Defense Forces

Soviet strategic defense was the responsibility of the Anti-air Defense forces (PVO). In addition to the forces directly assigned to it, during the Cold War the Soviet PVO 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. 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.

Equipment

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.[11]

In 2011, the Ministry of Defense announced that they would buy MiG-29s from Russia by the end of the year, but this did not materialize.[12][13] From 2007 – 2011 the fleet of MiG-21s was reduced.[14][15][16]

In October 2012 the Ministry of Defense returned an Airbus A310-300 to MIAT Mongolian Airlines.[17] In 2013 the Air Force looked at buying three Lockheed Martin C-130J transports. However, a deal was not completed.[18] Left without Russian aid, the Mongolian air force inventory gradually reduced to a few Antonov An-24/26 tactical airlifters and a dozen airworthy Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters.[19]

On 31 March 2019 the Mongolian Air Force received its first of 4 purchased Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft. A letter of intent was made for an additional 12 units. [20]

On 26 November 2019 Russia donated two MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Mongolia.[21]

Aircraft
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Transport
Antonov An-26 Ukraine transport 3[22]
Fighters
Mikoyan MiG-29 Russia Fighter 5 [23]
Sukhoi Su-30 Russia Fighter Su-30M 4 [24]
Helicopters
Mil Mi-8 Russia transport Mi-8/ 171 6[22]

Air Defense
Mongolia uses S-75 Dvina missiles like these which are on display at the Military History museum in Sofia Bulgaria
Name Origin Type In service Notes
SAM
S-75 Dvina[25] Soviet Union SAM system
Pechora-2M Russia SAM system 2 battery[25]
9K31 Strela-1[26] Soviet Union mobile SAM system
9K32 Strela-2 Soviet Union MANPADS 250[27] received 1250 from 1971 to 1983[25]
Air Defence Artillery
ZSU-23-4[28][29] Soviet Union mobile anti-aircraft
ZPU-4/ZU-23-2/S-60 Soviet Union anti-aircraft 150[27]
61-K[30] Soviet Union air-defense

References
  1. https://gsmaf.gov.mn/index.php?comp=post&id=1326
  2. Mongolia Air Force Archived 2016-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2013-10-08.
  3. https://www.gsmaf.gov.mn/index.php?comp=post&id=725
  4. https://www.gsmaf.gov.mn/index.php?comp=post&id=724
  5. https://kaznews.mn/zaisanov/amp/
  6. https://centrasia.org/person.php?st=1195920040
  7. https://www.aviationsmilitaires.net/v2/base/view/Airforce/206.html
  8. http://www.militaryparitet.com/perevodnie/data/ic_perevodnie/4461/
  9. Scramble.nl (2001). "Mongolian Air Force". Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  10. "Б.БАЯРМАГНАЙ: ЗЭВСЭГТ ХҮЧНИЙГ ГЭРЭЛТЭЙ, ГЭГЭЭТЭЙ ИРЭЭДҮЙ ХҮЛЭЭЖ БАЙНА". 2011-11-07. Archived from the original on 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  11. Mongolia Air Force Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine. globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2013-10-12.
  12. news.mn (2011-07-15). "Монголын нисэх хүчин МиГ-29 сөнөөгчөөр зэвсэглэнэ". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  13. https://news.mn/en/789888/
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2017-09-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-08-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. shuud.mn : Монголын цэргийнхэн Хойд Солонгосыг “зэвсэглэсэн үү” Archived 2013-04-10 at the Wayback Machine. shuud.mn. Retrieved on 2013-04-16.
  17. mod.gov - АЭРОБУС ОНГОЦЫГ БУЦААЖ ӨГНӨ Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine. mod.gov.mn. Retrieved on 2013-4-08.
  18. eurasianet - Mongolia Planning To Buy U.S. Military Airplanes Archived 2013-08-07 at the Wayback Machine. eurasianet.org. Retrieved on 2013-4-08.
  19. https://news.mn/en/789888/
  20. http://polygonjournal.com/2019/04/02/mongolia-receives-first-su-30sm-fighter-aircraft/
  21. https://www.janes.com/article/92899/russia-donates-two-mig-29ub-fighter-aircraft-to-mongolia
  22. "World Air Forces 2020". Flightglobal Insight. 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  23. https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/news125548-html/#:~:text=Share%20Article-,The%20Mongolian%20Defence%20Ministry%20will%20acquire%20five%20Mikoyan%20MiG%2D29,ten%20aircraft%20are%20still%20operational.
  24. http://polygonjournal.com/2019/04/02/mongolia-receives-first-su-30sm-fighter-aircraft/
  25. Trade Registers Archived 2010-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved on 2012-12-18.
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-10-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. The Military Balance 2012. — P. 267.
  28. "ZSU-23-4 (Shilka) - Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun - History, Specs and Pictures - Military Tanks, Vehicles and Artillery". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  29. "МОНГОЛ УЛСЫН ТӨЛӨӨ ЗҮТГЭЕ! : МУ-ын Зэвсэгт хүчин (хувийн зургууд)". Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  30. "МОНГОЛ УЛСЫН ТӨЛӨӨ ЗҮТГЭЕ! : МУ-ын Зэвсэгт хүчин (хувийн зургууд)". Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
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