Vietnam Helicopters (VNH), formally the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation (VNH Corp or VHC; ), also known by its military designation Corps 18 (), is a transportation business owned by the Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. It operates helicopters to transport cargo, train pilots and export/import devices in the aviation industry as well as providing

aircraft maintenance Aircraft maintenance is the performance of tasks required to ensure the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft or aircraft part, including overhaul, inspection, replacement, defect rectification, and the embodiment of modifications, compliance ...

while offering commercial services such as tourist transportation. Being a

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

and a formally a

combat unit Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarch ...

under the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

, VNH also operates government-sponsored flights serving

civil defense Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...

purposes including

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters and ...

as well as

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

missions.

History

The company was founded on April 20, 1979. The first flight squad of the Vietnam Air Force for oil and gas services was set up on September 13, 1983. In March 1985, Helicopter Vietnam was established. In 1989, the Service Flight Corporation of Vietnam was established by the Vietnamese Government with Northern Service Flight Company and Southern Service Flight Company as subsidiaries. In 2007, the Service Flight Corporation of Vietnam expanded with a new subsidiary, Hai Au Company, in addition to Northern Service Flight Company as well as Southern Service Flight Company. It has one joint venture, Bien Hoa Helicopters, a maintenance and repair company. In 2010, Service Flight Corporation of Vietnam was renamed the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation.

Operations

VNH operates a fleet of 28 aircraft with the ability to carry from 4 to 24 passengers .

Petroleum exploration

VNH is the first company in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

to provide aviation transport for employees in the oil and gas industry in

. Over three decades, VNH has provided aviation transport services for more than 30 companies, including

Vietsovpetro The Russia-Vietnam Joint Venture – Vietsovpetro (VSP;,) is a joint Russo-Vietnamese enterprise for oil and gas exploration headquartered in Vung Tau, Vietnam. According to the VNR500 (Top 500) ranking, Vietsovpetro was Vietnam's 8th largest ...

Premier Oil Premier Oil plc was an independent UK oil company with gas and oil interests in the United Kingdom, Asia, Africa and Mexico. It was devoted entirely to the 'upstream' sector of the industry — the exploitation of oil and gas — as opposed to th ...

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad, commonly known as PETRONAS (stylised in all caps), is a Malaysian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1974, it is a lega ...

, BP and

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

Charter flights

VNH flies 50+ routes to destinations such as

Hạ Long Hạ Long ( , ) is a first-class provincial city and the capital city of Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. It was found in 1993, when the old capital, Hòn Gai, was merged with Bãi Cháy, the main tourist area. The city mainly lies on Hạ L ...

, Cat Bi,

Móng Cái Móng Cái (, /mong:gaai:si/) is a city in Quảng Ninh province in Northeast Vietnam. History Its name Móng Cái (硭街市, /mong:gaai/) originated from Cantonese language, meaning "the mong market". It generalized the situation of the popu ...

Lào Cai Lào Cai () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders Bảo Thắng District, Bát Xát District, Sa Pa and the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Yunnan province of southwe ...

Sa Pa Sa Pa (, also written as Sapa) is a district-level town of Lào Cai Province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. The town has an area of and a population of 70,663 in 2022. The town capital lies at Sa Pa ward. It is one of the main market and t ...

Hòa Bình Hòa Bình (also written as ', lit. "peace") may refer to: Places in Vietnam * Hòa Bình Province, a province in the Northwest region * Hòa Bình City, the capital of Hòa Bình Province * Hòa Bình District, a rural district of Bạc Liêu Prov ...

Thanh Hóa Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of capital Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh Cit ...

Vinh Vinh () is the capital of Nghệ An province and an economic and cultural center of North-Central Vietnam. A key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the city is situated in the Southeast of ...

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...

Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is an important port city in southern Vietnam. It serves as the maritime port of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. Vũng Tàu covers of area and consists of 16 urban wards and on ...

Côn Đảo The Côn Đảo ("Côn Island") are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, in the Southeast region of Vietnam, and also a district () of this province. Geography Situated about from Vũng Tàu and from Ho Chi Minh City, the grou ...

Cà Mau Cà Mau () is a city in southern Vietnam. It is the capital of Cà Mau province, a province in the Mekong Delta region, in the southernmost part of Vietnam's inland territory (mainland). The city is characterised by its system of transport cana ...

and

Phú Quốc Phú Quốc () is the largest island in Vietnam. Phú Quốc and nearby islands, along with the distant Thổ Chu Islands, are part of Kiên Giang Province as Phú Quốc City; Vietnam's first island municipality. The island has a total area o ...

Pilot training

VNH Training Center is

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

-certified as a training center. It trains pilots, ground services staff, aviation engineering staff, and pilots on its modern group of aircraft including the

EC225 The Airbus Helicopters H225 (formerly Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma) is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Super Puma family. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up ...

, Super Puma AS-322 L2,

EC155 B1 The Airbus Helicopters H155 (formerly Eurocopter EC155) is a long-range medium-lift passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter from its Dauphin family for civil aviation use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 13 pas ...

, Mi-172, and the Mi-17-1V.The VNH Training Center has trained its own staff along with the

Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF; ), officially the Air Defence - Air Force Service (ADAF Service; ) or the Vietnam Air Force (), is the Aerial warfare, aerial, Anti-aircraft warfare, air and Space warfare, space defence service branch of ...

, and the

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; ), internally the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsible for the protection of the ...

. Trainers themselves were trained by helicopter companies in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Missing in Action program

The MIA program started as flights to search for missing Americans following the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The MIA program was established between the United States and the VNH on 18 April 1990. VNH has flown more than 100 searches throughout Vietnam, including many over dangerous regions and in hazardous weather conditions. These actions contributed to the normalization of

United States–Vietnam relations Formal relations between the United States and Vietnam were initiated in the nineteenth century under former American president Andrew Jackson, but relations soured after the United States refused to protect the Kingdom of Vietnam from a French ...

Aeronautical engineering services

The aeronautical engineering centers of VNH: Northern Vietnam Helicopter Company, Southern Service Flight Company and Helicopter Technical Services Corporation (Helitechco) are licensed by the AMO aircraft maintenance organization of

Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV or simply CAA; ) is the aviation authority under the Vietnam Ministry of Transport. It handles and regulates civil aviation in Vietnam.

. Helitechco is the only engineering center in Asia that has been ratified by the MIL Institute to maintain Russian-made Mi-type aircraft. More than 200 CAAV certified-staff are undergoing training at universities and colleges in domestic and international aviation. Engineers and technical staff attend courses in the operation and maintenance for helicopters in Russia and France as well as planes including the

, Super Puma AS-322 L2,

, Mi-172 and Mi-17-1V. Helitechco and aeronautical engineering centers of VNH can: *Overhaul Mi-type of plane with technical maintenance for 500 hours *Technical maintenance for more than 2200 hours for the

, Super Puma AS-322 L2 and

. *Accessory maintenance for Eurocopter and Mi planes

Other services

* Tourism, aerial photography, cargo sling; MEDEVAC, search and rescue * Subcontracting operations services, pilots and mechanics for other helicopter owners * National security and defense * General businesses: office and warehouse leasing; supply and transportation of aviation fuel; forwarding logistics services

Leaders

* General director: Hà Tiến Dũng * Political commissar: Vi Công Dũng * Vice general director: Kiều Đặng Hùng * Vice general director: Trần Đình Nam

Fleet

* Eurocopter EC225 * Eurocopter AS332 L2 Super Puma * AugustaWestland AW189 * Eurocopter EC155 B1 * Mi-172 * Mi-17-1V * Cabri G2 * Eurocopter EC130T2 *

Bell 505 Jet Ranger X The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X (JRX) is an American/Canadian light helicopter developed and manufactured by Bell Helicopter. The Bell 505 was unveiled at the Paris Air Show, 2013 Paris Airshow in June 2013 as the Bell SLS (Short Light Single). The B ...

(VN-8650 crashed in 5/4/2023)

Subsidiaries

* Northern Vietnam Helicopter Company, based in

Gia Lam airport Gia Lam Airport is an airport in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, located in Long Biên district, on the eastern bank of the Red River. It is primarily a military field, used by the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF), with MiG-21 fighters and Kam ...

, Hanoi. * Central Vietnam Helicopter Company, based in Danang International Airport and Nuoc Man Helibase, Danang. * Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company, based in

Vũng Tàu Airport Vung Tau Airport is a small airport in southern Vietnam, in the Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province. It serves the city of Vũng Tàu and is located near the downtown of the city. Facilities There is a 1,800 m paved runway (as of 2006). The airpo ...

, Vung Tau.

Accidents

*On 7 April 2001, a

Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories in Russia, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russia ...

helicopter crashed in Quang Binh province while conducting a US Missing in Action program mission, killing all 16 people on board (including 9 Americans). *On 18 October 2016, an

Eurocopter EC130 The Airbus Helicopters H130 (formerly Eurocopter EC130) is a single engine light utility helicopter developed from the earlier Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil, one of the primary changes from which was the adoption of a Fenestron anti-torque device i ...

crashed near Vung Tau while conducting training flight, killing 3 crew members. *On 5 April 2023, a

Bell 505 The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X (JRX) is an American/Canadian light helicopter developed and manufactured by Bell Helicopter. The Bell 505 was unveiled at the 2013 Paris Airshow in June 2013 as the Bell SLS (Short Light Single). The Bell 505 designa ...

on a sightseeing flight crashed in

Ha Long Bay Ha may refer to: Agencies and organizations * Health authority, a former type of administrative organisation of the NHS in England and Wales * Hells Angels Motorcycle Club * Highways Agency (renamed ''Highways England'', now ''National Highways'' ...

, killing the pilot and four tourists.

Achievements

* January 31, 1989: First flight to the Dan Queen oil rig of Bow Valley Energy ''(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

)'' of flight crew UH1A * 1985: Flight contract with

* 1989: Initial oil company service * 1992:

MIA Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed i ...

program * 1994: Shareholder of Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank * 1997: Becomes leader of the Vietnam helicopter services market * 1999:

President of Vietnam The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam () is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam from its delegates. Since Vietnam is a one-party state, candidates for the post are nominated by the Central Commit ...

issues Third

Military Exploit Order The Military Exploit Order () is the highest military award of Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of o ...

enabling training for foreign pilots * 2000: Supply planes, pilots and mechanics for oil services in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

* 2005: Transfer from

Ministry of Defense (Vietnam) The Ministry of National Defence (MND; ), alternatively the Ministry of Defence (MoD), fully the Ministry of Defence of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (or the Ministry of National Defence of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; ), is the gover ...

* 2009:

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

give the title Hero of Labor * 2014:

issues second

References

External links

Official website of Vietnam Helicopter Corporation
* * {{Airlines of Vietnam Airlines of Vietnam Helicopter airlines Vietnamese companies established in 1979 Airlines established in 1979