Strong country from the sea

Vice Admiral (Lieutenant General), Hero of the People's Armed Forces Mai Xuan Vinh, former Commander of the Navy, is 94 years old this year, and is retiring in Ho Chi Minh City. Not only has he gone through 3 wars and witnessed the development of the Army, but he also has very straightforward recommendations, contributing to promoting the modernization of the Vietnamese Navy.

Navy Air Force Pain

In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union helped us with a number of Ka-25 anti-submarine helicopters and Be-12 seaplanes for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare. In April 1982, the Ministry of Defense transferred the Ka-25 and Be-12 squadrons from the 933rd Air Force Regiment, Air Force (now Air Defense - Air Force) to the Navy.

After more than 2 years in the Navy, by the end of June 1984, the Ka-25 and Be-12 squadrons were transferred back to the Air Force, part of the 954th Air Force Regiment (established in mid-September 1984).

Wooden boat building site for the Coastal Defense Department (the predecessor of today's Navy) in Quang Yen, 1955

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

Navy Commander Mai Xuan Vinh (second from left) inspects tanks on Truong Sa Island, September 1994.

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

Since 1988, Regiment 954 has been equipped with additional anti-submarine helicopters Ka-28, Ka-27PL, Ka-32T and recently EC-225 (2011), DHC-6 seaplane (2013), new generation UAVs...

At the end of May 2013, Regiment 954 was upgraded to a brigade; at the end of June 2013, it was transferred from the Air Defense - Air Force to the Navy, and up to now has always successfully completed missions such as: taking off and landing on Gepard-class escort ships; shooting and bombing flights; international search and rescue flights; patrol, reconnaissance, fishing ground control flights and search, rescue, emergency patient transport...

Recalling the time in early 1984, when the General Staff intended to transfer the naval air force to the Air Force, Vice Admiral Mai Xuan Vinh (then a colonel, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Navy) recalled: "We earnestly proposed to keep the Naval Air Force but were not allowed" and gave reasons for keeping it, such as: This is the main component of the navy. Combat at sea, without the air force, the navy will have a lot of difficulties, and sometimes even suffer losses. If the naval air force is left in the Air Force, when combating at sea, it will have to be transferred to the subordinates, which will not be convenient for joint command and the combat effectiveness will not be high.

Ka-28 helicopters and DHC-6 seaplanes of the 954th Naval Aviation Brigade

PHOTO: PV

Navy troops control UAV

PHOTO: PV

Kilo-636 submarine of 189th naval brigade parades at sea

PHOTO: INDEPENDENCE

In 2000, before retiring, Vice Admiral Vinh met with General Pham Van Tra (then Minister of Defense) and proposed: The Navy needs to have all branches to fight independently at sea. In 1981, the Navy was equipped with aircraft, but then transferred to the Air Force with the reason "to have the conditions and ability to maintain operations". In fact, since being transferred to the Air Force, these aircraft have never operated with the Navy, so they gradually became damaged and were eliminated...

Navy Equipment, from Small to Large

During nearly 10 years of holding the important position of Navy Commander, General Mai Xuan Vinh has repeatedly reported on the difficulties and shortcomings in the Navy's combat equipment to key leaders in the Politburo , the Party Central Committee and the Standing Committee of the Central Military Party Committee.

In early 2000, General Vinh retired. Before receiving the decision, he asked to meet with General Pham Van Tra and made a frank recommendation: The Navy is one of the three branches of the Vietnam People's Army, the core force in protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity in the seas and islands. In recent years, the situation of sovereignty disputes has become increasingly fierce, and violations of foreign sovereignty have occurred continuously... However, the Navy's combat equipment is too lacking and outdated. For the past 10 years, the Navy has been increasingly degraded, and the addition of combat ships is not enough to compensate for the loss due to many years of use. At this rate, the Navy's combat force will increasingly shrink.

Gepard 3.9 missile frigate parades at sea with missile ships

PHOTO: DUC THU

Naval Region 4's surface combat ship formation marches at sea

PHOTO: DUC THU

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh observes equipment on the Kilo-636 submarine of the Vietnam Navy, March 2022

PHOTO: PV

The anti-submarine frigate squadron of Brigade 171, Naval Region 2 conducts exercises at sea.

PHOTO: PV

General Mai Xuan Vinh earnestly said: "I request the Central Military Party Committee, the Ministry of National Defense and the Minister personally to report to the Politburo and the State to urgently develop a strategy to build the Navy. Even though the country's economy is still facing difficulties, we must try to strengthen combat equipment to revive the Navy. First of all, we must supplement combat ships by both purchasing and building new ones. Build a naval weapons manufacturing industry and innovate more modern naval equipment and weapons...".

Regarding the organization and staffing, General Mai Xuan Vinh suggested: "Currently, the number of combat ships is concentrated in Naval Region 3 (Da Nang), while the hotter battlefield is in the Truong Sa archipelago and the southern continental shelf. Therefore, the combat ship force of Region 3 always has to be mobilized to be on duty in the south, far from the management of the unit, and is dispersed, making it very difficult to direct training and ensure all aspects of the ship brigade. On the other hand, the mobility of our ships is very limited, the operating radius is not far, so a new unit should be established in the south, to reduce the need to mobilize ships from Da Nang to be on duty in the south"...

The Song Hong anti-ship missile (VSM-01A) is part of the domestically produced Truong Son land-to-sea missile complex, newly equipped for naval missile units.

PHOTO: PV

Missile boat formation of Brigade 167 (Naval Region 2) maneuvers on duty at sea

PHOTO: PV

In fact, two years after General Vinh retired, in early January 2002, the Ministry of National Defense established the 162nd surface combat ship brigade under Naval Region 4, equipped with the most modern warships, specializing in protecting Truong Sa. In July 2013, the 167th surface combat ship brigade (Naval Region 2) was established with modern Molniya 1241.8 missile boats.

In particular, after the Resolution of the 9th Party Congress of the Army (term 2010 - 2015) identified the Vietnam People's Navy as one of the five forces built in the direction of "advancing straight to modernity", the Navy has received attention for investment, procurement and equipment of many new and modern weapons and equipment and currently has five components (surface ships, submarines; naval air force; coastal artillery - missiles; marines; naval commandos) and support and service units... The above forces have been strengthened, putting into service many types of modern weapons and equipment such as Kilo 636 submarines, Gepard 3.9 missile frigates, 1241.8 missile ships, TT-400TP gunboats, 10412 gunboats; Bastion coastal missiles; EC-225 and DHC-6 aircraft; SCORE-3000 surveillance radar…

Vietnam Navy's anti-submarine frigate fires torpedoes during exercise

PHOTO: PV

Now old and weak, General Mai Xuan Vinh rarely visits Navy units like he did in previous years, but he is still excited: "The Navy has developed to be as modern as it is today, just like in a dream"...

General Mai Xuan Vinh enlisted in 1950, fought against the French on the Tri Thien and Lower Laos fronts... In 1961, he transferred to the Navy, directly fought against the US, participated in protecting Truong Sa - DK1... and commanded the Navy until his retirement (March 2000).

Since its establishment (May 19, 1997) up to now, the Shipbuilding Management Department (Naval General Staff) has organized the investment, procurement, construction, reception and operation of hundreds of ships of all types (submarines, missile frigates, fast attack missile boats, gunboats, fishing control ships, support ships, multi-purpose submarine rescue ships...).

Currently, the unit is implementing projects to build new A2 missile ships, submarine emergency intervention and rescue ships and 2 multi-purpose transport ships. These are projects with high difficulty, complexity and intellectual content... In particular, in the period of 2026 - 2030 and 2031 - 2035, a large number of ships will be built under Project 2531.

Colonel Bui Van Tien (Head of Naval Shipbuilding Management Department)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/to-quoc-manh-tu-bien-185250830193156447.htm