The United States on Wednesday delivered its first military training aircraft to Vietnam since the Cold War as it helps its former foe develop defense capabilities amid a growing threat from China.
A group of five Beechcraft T-6C Texan II aircraft arrived at an air base in Phan Thiet on the southeast coast of Vietnam. Kansas-based manufacturer Textron Aviation Defense describes the aircraft as the “next-generation military trainer designed for all levels of instruction.”
While the Vietnamese air force has operated Western planes that it seized from the U.S.-backed South Vietnam military following the Vietnam War, the deal for the T-6Cs was its first direct purchase of non-drone aircraft from the U.S. after Washington lifted its ban on arms sales to Hanoi in 2016.
In 2019, the U.S. announced its first military equipment transfer to Vietnam following the end of the arms embargo, supplying the country with six ScanEagle surveillance and reconnaissance drones.
Vietnam’s combat aircraft fleet was supplied by the Soviet Union and later Russia. Vietnam has also purchased a dozen Yak-130 training aircraft from Moscow in 2019, all of which have been delivered.
The arrival of the aircraft came amid tensions growing in the South China Sea, where Vietnam and China have clashed over Hoang Sa, a disputed island group also known as the Paracel Islands, located to the east of Vietnam and southeast of China’s Hainan Island.
Chinese military drones were spotted flying along the coast of Vietnam twice in August, marking the first time China had made such military flights visible for tracking by the public.
The U.S. and Vietnam, which normalized their diplomatic relations in 1995, have increased security cooperation in the face of heightened tensions in the South China Sea.
Leaders of the two countries elevated their bilateral partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2023, with the U.S. committed to assist Vietnam develop its defense capabilities.
The delivery of the aircraft “represents the promise we made to assist in your air force modernization efforts,” said General Kevin Schneider, the U.S. Air Force commander in the Pacific Ocean theater, during a handover ceremony in Phan Thiet.
The general said that the introduction of the T-6C into the Vietnamese air force ensured Vietnam would be better prepared to deter threats facing the nation.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam, the American air force and the Vietnamese defense ministry agreed a deal for the T-6Cs in 2021 to improve Vietnam’s air force pilot training program. Seven more aircraft are scheduled for delivery by next year.
The delivery of the trainers “represents a small but important step forward” in Hanoi’s defense relations with Washington, Radio Free Asia reported, citing Ian Storey, who is a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
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