April 20, 2011 at 10:55 am
With a lack of any meaningful budget to purchase new aircraft and a distinct lack of nations willing to supply North Korea with new aircraft, what is the future for North Korean air power? It’s looking preety grim IMO. Outside of smuggling in parts for existing aircraft and the occasional whole airframe, the KPAAF hasn’t had anything new added to its inventory for quite some time. It, as far as we know, doesn’t have the ability to upgrade its existing platforms by any real capability and we have a fair idea that most (some sources claim as much as 65%) of the aircraft aren’t even airworthy.
In another tens years, maybe even less, the RoK Army will be able to walk into Pyongyang without even having to look up!
Is there hope for the KPAAF at all? Can anyone see China or Russia donating old J-8, J-10, MiG-29 or Su-27’s? Would China or Russia even want to come to the rescue at all? It seems to me that if they were even slightly concerned they would have taken such steps already.
What do you think guys?