Vietnamese People's Air Force - F-16
Vietnam will soon become the next developed country in Asia. A large amount of foreign investment will pour into Vietnam. Large factories have been built in the original muddy land. Vietnam not only accommodates a large number of manufacturing industries, It even began to accept financial resources. While the economy is developing rapidly, the Vietnamese government is also promoting its own military modernization. Judging from the actual situation, the Vietnamese government puts more energy into economic and political reforms. Vietnam's military modernization has lagged behind, although it is equipped with equipment from many countries.
As far as the Vietnamese Air Force is concerned, despite the upgrade with the help of India, the old MiG-21 fighter jets still need to be phased out as soon as possible. Vietnam plans to invest US$1.5 billion to purchase a single-engine fighter jet to replace the MiG-21. For now Judging from the situation, it is more likely to choose the American-made F-16 fighter jet.
The Vietnamese Air Force has long been equipped with fighter jets made by the Soviet Union/Russia. However, military cooperation with other countries in recent years has also made Vietnam increasingly aware of the training and tactical systems of American fighter jets. As for the need to establish a separate logistics and maintenance system, and the existing The integration of command systems is not a big problem. There are many countries equipped with fighter jets from the United States, Russia, and even the United States, Russia, and France.
Compared with Russian fighter jets, although the initial selling price of U.S. fighter jets is more expensive (excluding second-hand fighter jets), in terms of the entire life cycle, its cost is not higher than that of Russian fighter jets, and it can even be said to be cheaper, especially given the life span of U.S. fighter jets Several times that of Russian-made fighter jets. This has even been recognized by some Russian "allies". While acquiring the latest Su-30SM fighter jets, Belarusian President Lukashenko complained that Russian-made fighter jets were more expensive. In terms of price and performance, the latest Su-30SM It is also inferior to the F-16 fighter jets purchased by neighboring countries.
The F-16 was born in the Vietnam War, when the United States discovered their heavy Cold War "lead sled" fighters were not designed for old-fashioned dogfights against the North Vietnamese Air Force. The large, heavy, unmaneuverable and purely missile-armed American fighters were forced to engage older but more agile MiGs. By 1965 a small group laterknown as the "Fighter Mafia," instigated the creation of a new fighter that was agile with good pilot visibility and armament for close engagements, with "not a pound for air-to-ground". The F-XX was reborn in a modified form in 1971 and ultimately evolved into the highly-successful F-16.
Washington lifted its arms sales embargo on Vietnam in 2016. Vietnam saw the lifting of the 50-year-old US arms embargo as an opportunity to securely access a flow of advanced American technology for the next generation and to buy F-16 combat jets to patrol the South China Sea, US experts on East Asia said. "The Vietnamese want F-16s," Eurasian Business Coalition (EBC) Vice President Ralph Winnie said 02 June 2016. "That is what they would like to patrol the South China Sea."
while the F-16 Fighting Falcon jets were on Hanoi’s immediate shopping list, Winnie explained that the Vietnamese also had a much more ambitious, long-term agenda of business cooperation with the United States in mind. "The Vietnamese would like to focus on developing joint venture partnerships with the United States to ensure technological progress over the next 10 to 20 years. The idea would be to gain access to US and Western technology on a reliable and sustained long-term basis," Winnie stated.
Although Vietnam’s direct relations with China were deteriorating, Hanoi still looked to Beijing as its model for maintaining control over a centralized, militarily-strong society while applying free market competition to achieve long-term economic growth. However Vietnam was increasingly alarmed by China’s growing assertiveness over its sovereignty rights in the South China Sea, known in Vietnam as the East Sea. These concerns rested on a long historic record of mutual suspicion and distrust between Beijing and Hanoi.
US veteran foreign policy analyst and author Joe Lauria noted that the growing ties between Hanoi and Washington fulfilled a prediction famous political scientist Hans Morgenthau made back in 1970. "During one of his lectures in Spring 1970, Morgenthau predicted that the Vietnam War would end, that the United States would lose the Vietnam War and leave Vietnam, but that someday Vietnam would invite the United States back in in order to counteract China," Lauria recalled.
Vietnam planned by 2020 to invest US$1.5 billion to purchase a single-engine fighter jet to replace the MiG-21. For now Judging from the situation, it is likely to choose the American-made F-16 fighter jet. The topic of Vietnam purchasing US-made F-16 fighter jets has been around for a long time. The United States is willing to facilitate this deal and strengthen the previous military cooperation between the United States and Vietnam. The United States has lifted most restrictions on arms sales to Vietnam. The two countries are politically and Economic cooperation has also been deepened.
Vietnam may purchase second-hand F-16 fighter jets retired by the U.S. Air Force and National Guard. With the batch service of F-35 fighter jets, the F-16 is currently accelerating its retirement. In the future, the U.S. military will fully retire this classic fighter jet, extend its life and add some upgrades. The later second-hand F-16 fighter jets still have strong combat effectiveness. In fact, not only the United States, but also other countries that are replacing F-35 fighter jets are planning to sell off the F-16 fighter jets that are about to be retired.
Defence Security Asia reported "Washington is expected to offer the F-16 Block 70 “Viper” variant, the most advanced version of the aircraft, equipped with various weapon systems, an AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, a new mission computer, and several other upgrades. While still categorized as a fourth-generation fighter, the latest F-16 Block 70 “Viper” boasts some fifth-generation technology."
The Biden administration was in talks with Vietnam over an arms sale package featuring a fleet of F-16 fighter jets that could come together within the a year. When President Biden visited Vietnam earlier this month, Vietnam elevated the United States to the highest diplomatic status alongside China and Russia. It marked a major diplomatic shift nearly half a century after the end of the Vietnam War.
The US is reportedly in talks with Vietnam on offering the country F-16 fighter jets after the two countries upgraded their diplomatic ties earlier in September. The sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea and the increasingly tense relationship with China occasion to assist Vietnam in strengthening its defense capabilities. Discussions were still at an early stage and specific terms had not yet been finalized. During September 2023, it became a key topic in talks between Vietnamese and American officials in Hanoi, New York and Washington.
Since the arms embargo was lifted in 2016, U.S. defense exports to Vietnam have been limited to coast guard ships and training aircraft, while about 80% of Vietnam's armaments come from Russia. Hanoi's annual arms import budget is approximately US$2 billion. The high cost of U.S. weapons is a major obstacle, as is training in the use of the equipment, a major reason why Vietnam has purchased less than $400 million in U.S. arms over the past decade. "Vietnamese officials are very clear that they have to allocate funds. We need to take the lead and help Vietnam get what it needs," one U.S. official said.
Washington was considering setting special financing conditions for the expensive arms sale, which would help cash-strapped Hanoi wean itself off dependence on low-cost Russian-made weapons. Spokespersons for the White House and Vietnam's foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. "One of the issues that the U.S. government is grappling with within the U.S. government is how to creatively provide better financing options to Vietnam so that they can potentially get something that is really useful to them," a U.S. official said.
The deal, which could eventualoy become one of the largest arms transfers between the two countries since the Cold War, is still in its early stages, with exact terms yet to be worked out, and may not come together, Reuters reported. Reuters brought up the tensions between China and Vietnam over the South China Sea issue, citing it as a reason Vietnam should consider buying the US warplanes, with another named reason being that the Ukraine crisis is making it harder for Vietnam to acquire weapons from its longstanding arms supplier Russia.
Jeffrey Ordaniel, assistant professor of international security studies at Tokyo International University and director of maritime security at the think tank Pacific Forum, said: "They are developing asymmetric defense capabilities but hope not to trigger a reaction from China. This is a delicate balance." He Adding that Washington should shift military spending that finances the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific: "Partner countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan so that they can cover the costs of the armaments they need to fight China."
The Biden administration had said the United States is trying to balance geopolitical competition with China in places like the Pacific. At the same time, the Russo-Ukrainian war has complicated Hanoi's long-term relationship with Moscow, and purchasing Russian-made weapons is no longer as easy as before. However, Vietnam is still actively negotiating with Moscow on a possible arms sales agreement, which may trigger US sanctions.
The "could irk China and sideline Russia," Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the deal. Chinese experts said on 24 September 2023 that the potential deal, serving the US' hegemonic goals of containing China, would stir up troubles that sabotage peace and stability in the region, and that Vietnam will not easily accept that.
Chinese military experts said that the US proposal has its own hegemonic goals. The Vietnamese air force now mainly operates Russian-made fighter jets, and if the US-made F-16s replace them, it means that the US could win another major customer from Russia, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday.
By offering F-16 fighter jets, potentially second-hand, to Vietnam and boosting defense ties, the US aims to gain another foothold in the region through adding political strings like demanding the use of Vietnam air force and naval bases, Wei said.
Taking advantage of this new foothold, the US military can stir up more troubles in the South China Sea to build up a military encirclement and contain China, Wei said. However, analysts believe that Vietnam can weigh the pros and cons independently and avoid falling into a trap that would make it a US pawn. If Vietnam buys US fighter jets, it could find itself controlled by the US, and its defense policies and military activities could become dependent on US decisions, Wei said. "Vietnam will unlikely find this acceptable," he said.
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