Eleven helicopters of the Vietnam Air Force landed at Dien Bien airport.

(Dan Tri) - This morning (April 19), 3 helicopter regiments of the Air Defense - Air Force Service completed the mission of transferring the airport from Hoa Lac airport to Dien Bien airport to prepare for the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.

At the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2024), 3 squadrons of 9 helicopters of the Vietnam Air Force carrying the National Flag and the Party flag will participate in the flight during the Celebration.

On the morning of April 19, at Hoa Lac airport (Son Tay, Hanoi), the entire helicopter force of the Air Defense - Air Force Service participating in the parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory flew to Dien Bien airport.

At 7:30 a.m., the first helicopter took off from Hoa Lac airport. Previously, on April 16, 3 regiments organized a long-distance transfer training flight with a squadron of 4 helicopters, completing the mission according to plan.

At 10am this morning, Dien Bien Airport continuously welcomed 11 helicopters flying to transfer from Hoa Lac. This is also the first high-intensity working day of the new Dien Bien air control tower, after being inaugurated yesterday (April 18).

A helicopter of the Vietnam Air Force flies over the wreckage of a tank lying on the Muong Thanh field, close to the runway of Dien Bien airport. This is a historical evidence of the heroic victory of the Vietnamese army and people over the powerful army of the French colonialists 70 years ago. The French Chaffee-24 tank guarding Muong Thanh airport (former name of Dien Bien airport) was destroyed when the 141st Regiment of the 312th Division and the 102nd Regiment of the 308th Division fought fiercely, digging trenches to divide Muong Thanh airport from April 21-29, 1954.

Technicians assisted the helicopters in landing at designated locations on the old runway of Dien Bien airport.

In the largest-ever deployment of a military transport mission to Dien Bien, there were a total of 11 helicopters including the following types: Mi-171, Mi-172, Mi-17, Mi-8 (Photo: Nguyen The Thang).

Hundreds of commanders, technicians, mechanics and pilots have arrived at Dien Bien airport to carry out the flag-raising mission during the upcoming May 7th celebration.

The helicopter force will organize training, participate in joint exercises, preliminary rehearsals, general rehearsals and official flights in the coming time at Dien Bien airport.