NORTH KOREA’S Air Force Is Total Junk – But It Can Still Kill. North Korea’s Korean People’s Army Air Force (KPAAF) is not in the top ranks of the world’s air forces.
Even the antiquated junk that the KPAAF possesses can be used to good effect by a fanatically determined enemy.
The modern North Korean Air Force fields a mix of aircraft types. Many are of Soviet-era origin while those of Chinese origin are based on Soviet designs. 944 total aircraft in inventory.
- 106 Units of Shenyang F-5 (MiG-17)
- 97 Units of Shenyang F-6 (MiG-19)
- 120 units of Chengdu F-7 (MiG-21)
- 26 units of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 ‘Fishbed’
- 56 units of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 ‘Flogger’
- 35 units of Mikoyan MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum’
- 18 units of Sukhoi Su-7 ‘Fitter’
When North Korea Fired A Missile At SR 71 Blackbird
However, in the event of a war, the United States and South Korea couldn’t simply avoid engaging such an aerial target—especially if it was a civilian installation or some sort of vital military asset.
Moreover, against an enemy like North Korea, there is no way for the defender to know that such an attacking aircraft is not carrying some sort of chemical or biological weapon—in which case, even shooting the aircraft down is problematic.
Moreover, against an enemy like North Korea, there is no way for the defender to know that such an attacking aircraft is not carrying some sort of chemical or biological weapon—in which case, even shooting the aircraft down is problematic.
There is also the outside chance that the North Korean forces are as fanatic as the Imperial Japanese were during World War II. As noted earlier, North Korea less resembles an Eastern European Communist state than it does an Asian monarchy in many ways.
Can North Korea Sink a united states navy Aircraft carrier
As the Japanese demonstrated during the Second World War, there is no better weapons guidance system than a kamikaze pilot.
Indeed, while J-5 and J-6 are basically useless as fighters, they would be great cruise missiles loaded up with bombs on a one-way trip. If even only a few got through to their targets, it might be worth it for a regime that knows that it is about to be destroyed.
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