Report by Robin Polderman
A recent satellite image of Koksan airbase, located in central North Korea, shows a group of ten Su-7 Fitters clustered together near the entrance of an underground aircraft facility. To our knowledge, this is the first picture showing more than a single North Korean Su-7.
Very little is known about KPAAF (Korean People’s Army Air and Anti-Air Force) operations with the Su-7 Fitter-A, and the type has proven to be extremely camera-shy. They haven’t shown up in any state media coverage of any airbase or event in the past three decades at least.
An older propaganda image shows Kim Il-Sung visiting Pukchang airbase, where the Supreme Leader was pictured against a backdrop of a MiG-23ML and a Su-7BMK, both carrying armament. With MiG-23 deliveries commencing in 1985, and Kim Il-Sung's passing in 1994, the picture obviously must have been taken during the period in between.
More evidence occurred in the form of a satellite picture of Pukchang taken in the mid-2010s, which shows a single Su-7 parked outside. For those reasons, we can tentatively conclude the type once operated from Pukchang airbase, alongside the unit operating the MiG-23 Floggers. The fact that the Fitter fleet has not been dispersed around Pukchang airbase as decoys but were most likely stored in the base’s underground facility, hints towards a current reserve role.
In the early 1970s, the KPAAF took delivery of an unknown number of Su-7BMK aircraft, which were allegedly ordered in 1969. A recently declassified CIA report drawn up in 1986, reveals a total of 24 Fitter-A were acquired by the North Koreans, while Russian sources quote numbers between 18 and 20. With the Su-7 production line shutting down in 1971 (and fully switching to the manufacture of the Su-17 Fitter-C), it is likely that the North Korean Fitters were delivered that same year.
With Pukchang airbase undergoing an extensive revamp, we guess that the Fitter-A fleet was relocated to Koksan, home to a Shenyang F-6 Farmer regiment, to make room for the ongoing reconstruction.
The question remains if the Fitters flew to the airbase of Koksan under their own power or were moved there by different means, the distance between the two runways being around 100 km (54 nm) as the crow flies.
Should you have more info on the North Korean Su-7 fleet, The Unit Report would be interested in hearing from you!
북한의 Su-7 항공기에 대한 추가 정보가 있으시다면, The Unit Report 에게 연락해 주시기 바랍니다!