Cambodia's Air Force purchased 22 second-hand MiG-21 fighter jets and trainer aircraft from the Soviet Union in 1986, forming the 701 Fighter Squadron. These MiG fighters were grounded after their last flight on June 17, 1992. In between, Israel helped Cambodia with major repairs, but because Cambodia had no money, the repairs could not continue. Due to a lack of funds and skilled personnel, the MiG-21 aircraft were stored and have never flown again.

Time moves to 2025, Cambodia still has no single fighter jet that can take off, but it has some relatively outdated helicopters as reserves, but what good is that? Therefore, during the Cambodian-Thai War, Cambodia was always being bombed passively, isn't it because of the lack of fighter jets?

The most wrong decision made by Hun Sen and his son in recent years is to abandon the development of the Cambodian Air Force. As a result, when the war came, there were no good aircraft available. Now, if Cambodia wants to develop its air force, it will at least have to start from training aircraft, and it will take one or two decades of adjustment before it can build a strong local air force.

If Cambodia does not have an air force, it should not think about any confrontation with Thailand, because it is absolutely doomed to lose. Therefore, in modern warfare, without an air force, there is no hope of winning. Looking at these second-hand MiG-21 aircraft, they are already seriously outdated. It would be better to scrap them entirely. Even selling them for scrap may not find anyone willing to buy, and they can only end up being recycled as scrap.

Hun Sen and his son live in luxurious palaces and ride in luxury private airplanes, but they did not think about equipping the Cambodian military with air force equipment, which is indeed a very poor decision. A country without an air force should just be modest and not constantly confront Thailand, otherwise Cambodia will definitely suffer losses.

I hope Cambodia can learn from this lesson and stop provoking Thailand, because it really cannot win. Since there is no air force, staying low key is better, so that it can gain enough buffer space, which is the most important situation.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1839588287195148/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.