Myanmar Air Force Day
As every year on 15 December, the Tatmadaw Lay (MAF, Myanmar Air Force) have their commemoration ceremony where new aircraft and helicopters are commissioned into service. The ceremony is traditionally held at Mandalay-Meiktila flying training air base.
The Chairman of the State Planning and Administration Council, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, General Min Aung Hlaing, opened the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Myanmar Air Force. After the opening ceremony, all individual aircraft were traditionally blessed.
In 1990, the name of the air force was changed from Burma Air Force (BAF) to Myanmar Air Force (MAF).
In this Diamond Jubilee year, the acquisition of the Sukhoi Su-30SME fourth-generation multi-purpose fighter aircraft was a key element. But the most surprising type of aircraft was the Kamov Ka-28 of which two were present. Scramble Magazine assesses these helicopters are ex Indian Navy.
Information from the Myanmar military is very sparse. However, a good overview photo from the preparation on 11 December 2022 was shown on the internet. Later on, more detail photos came up and gave us a good picture of the aircraft present. Other "official" photos were clearly photoshopped and serials were deleted.
The following fifteen aircraft were commissioned into service:
*) During the week of the ceremony, FTC-2000G 1401 and 1403 switched with each other on the display line. One of them joined the flypast ceremony on 15 December.
Photo via Mike Yeo (twitter @TheBaseLeg)