Rare footage about current North Korean Air Force. Featuring Mig-29s, Su-25s, AN-2s and Korean People’s Air Force One

May 15, 2014 North Korea, Troubled Areas

David Cenciotti

Here is a 21-minute video about Korean People’s Air Force (KPAF) air-to-ground inter-unit competition.

Even if it may seem a documentary produced in the 1970s, the following is an interesting footage filmed during the recent Korean People’s Air Force’s combat flight contest which touted the capability of the North Korean air arm.

The video includes footage of KPAF Mig-29s, Su-25s, An-2s, Mig-23s, Mig-21s, Il-28 as well as several helicopters during the May 9’s air demo.

Also featured is the Presidential Il-62 used by Kim Jong Un to reach the airbase where the contest was held: the rarely seen North Korea’s Air Force One shows a livery sensibly different from the paint scheme previously used by the plane, that was almost identical to that of the state airline Air Koryo.

The new paint scheme includes a new badge applied on the tail: a sort of KPA roundel flanked by a blue stylized bird.

Even if the “Air Force Un” livery has been renewed, the fleet is made by quite obsolete aircraft….that seem to be younger than their pilots.

Judge yourself:

Image credit: KCNA

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.