Air Force Officer Candidate School conducts live-fire bombing and rocket-launching exercise

Deputy Chief of the General Staff Sr. Lt. Gen. Pham Truong Son directed the exercise.

Following the exercise, Sr. Lt. Gen. Pham Truong Son commended the school for its thorough preparations. Instructor pilots and trainees from Regiments 940 and 910 successfully performed bombing, rocket-launching, and simple and complex maneuvering exercises against ground targets. All activities were conducted according to plan, with targets destroyed on the first attack, ensuring absolute safety of personnel, weapons, and equipment.

Notably, this was the first time the L-39NG had been used in a live-fire bombing and rocket-launching exercise, employing two types of weapons: bombs and rockets. The exercise enabled pilots to assess their ability to operate the aircraft’s weapon systems and helped refine procedures for training, flight operations, and weapons employment on the new aircraft.

For many young pilot trainees, this was also their first experience conducting live-fire bombing and rocket-launching exercises. From preparation and handling simulated situations to executing flight maneuvers, the trainees demonstrated confidence, bravery, and proficiency in operating their aircraft, successfully completing their assigned tasks.

After the exercise, Sr. Lt. Gen. Pham Truong Son required the school and other units to continue updating training programs, with an emphasis on enhancing pilots' political resolve, situational handling skills, and ability to operate aircraft systems, particularly among young pilots. He also stressed the need to strengthen coordination among forces, strictly observe safety regulations, and improve the quality of training, education, and combat readiness.

The PAN would like to present some photos of the exercise.

Delegates attend the exercise.

Technical personnel inspect the aircraft.

Pilots aboard a YAK-130 aircraft

A YAK-130 taxis toward the runway.

A YAK-130 takes off from Phu Cat Air Base.

A YAK-130 flies overhead.

A YAK-130 fires rockets.

An L-39NG drops bombs.

A target is destroyed.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Pham Truong Son and Lt. Gen. Vu Hong Son, Commander of the ADAF Service, present gifts to participating units.

Translated by Quynh Oanh