The Laotian Army Unexpectedly Displayed Outstanding Modern Strength

07 Desember 2020

The Laotian army and their equipment (all photos : Jack Phouthavong, Kien Thuc)

As a little-noticed military in Southeast Asia, but in recent years, Laos has had a strong transformation with many modern arms procurement contracts.

The Lao army is an under-noticed army in Southeast Asia due to its small size and outdated equipment, plus it is relatively quiet in its military operations. However, in recent times, they have accelerated their development with the purchase of a series of modern weapons and equipment for the air force and the army, making the face of the armed forces significantly enhanced. Recently, through a live fire drill by the Lao Army, we can see that the achievements they have achieved are not bad.

In particular, the noteworthy thing about the army air defense is that Laos has imported Tian Long 6 (TL-6) low-range air defense complexes from China for the task of making air defense umbrellas to cover the head of the military army. The combination uses a missile launcher that integrates radar and photoelectric block to observe the target indicator, capable of destroying low-flying targets such as UAVs, helicopters, attackers, dive fighters, and is placed on a 6x6 cross-country armored car chassis capable of swimming, making it extremely convenient for maneuvering.

Equally beneficial is that the 82mm CS/SS4 self-propelled mortar cannon batteries are mounted on the Dong Feng 4x4 all terrain vehicle  armored chassis, also imported from China. The advantage of this cannon is that it is extremely maneuverable, able to deploy to complex terrain areas where the enemy cannot deploy heavy firepower or deploy a rapid attack and then withdraw, safely reverse at the speed of the off-road vehicle.

Self-propelled mortar cannon CS/SS 4 has a crew of 4, according to the assessment, it can achieve a tremendous rate of fire over 100 rounds/min, maximum range within 4 km. With this rate of fire, in a short time, the mortar batteries combined with combat could strike the enemy with a screen of extremely dense fire.

In the Lao Army 's operational squad, it was indispensable for Dong Feng 4x4 armored vehicles to be imported from China. It has the advantage of being able to quickly maneuver to approach and give first aid, bring wounded soldiers back to the back line in time, improve the survivability of soldiers in actual combat.

Besides the army weapons from China, it is impossible not to mention the weapons of the traditional friend of the Soviet Union and later Russia in the service of the Lao army. In particular, the appearance of the leading modern battle tank in Southeast Asia today the        T-72B1MS tank participating in real-time gun shooting exercises further clarifies their superior strength. T-72B1MS tanks imported from Russia from Russia, officially handed over in 2018 with many modern features such as upgraded electronic systems, panoramic viewfinder, APU engine, etc.

The famous BM-21 Grad series launch jet artillery complex was also mobilized from Laos to participate in this exercise. The combination of 40 rocket launchers can in a short time pour down a large area into a sea of ​​flames, with a maximum range of up to 40km and still one of the top dangerous jet artillery combinations in the world today although it was born in the 1960s, developed by the Soviet Union.

The BMP-1 is the first generation of the BMP infantry fighting vehicle line developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s, extremely successful with a large number of production, serving in the military forces of many countries in the world.

The Z-9 helicopter is a Chinese-made version of the famous Eurocopter AS 365 Dauphin helicopter. It is able to carry light transport, fly for rescue reconnaissance and ground support with small wing mounted pod rockets on either side.

Lao Air Force Mi-8 helicopter landed on top of the roof, trained to capture high-rise buildings.

Lao artillery fired 152mm D-20 howitzers to suppress, destroy clusters of bases, pilot enemy energies, and support infantry troops attacking in the framework of the practice.

After displays of heavy firepower, it was the infantry's turn to volunteer to finish off the target, complete the defeat of the enemy, and end the maneuvers. It can be said that this exercise showed a much more comprehensive, much more modern, and much stronger face of the Lao army. This is the right and reasonable investment from superiors to get today.

(Kien Thuc)