The Vietnam People's Air Force, officially the Air Defence - Air Force Service or the Vietnam Air Force, is the aerial and space service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force (NVAF) and absorbed the South Vietnamese Air Force (RVNAF/VNAF) following the reunification of Vietnam in 1975 and is one of three main branches of the People's Army of Vietnam, which is under the control of the Ministry of National Defence. The main mission of the VPAF is the defence of Vietnamese aerospace and the provision of air and space cover for operations of the People's Army of Vietnam.

The Aero 45 was a twin-piston engined civil utility aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia after World War II. Aero Vodochody produced the aircraft in 1947–1951, after which the Let Kunovice rolled out these planes until 1961. In 1958 the Ae-45S became the first Czechoslovak plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first product of the nation's postwar aviation industry and proved a great success, with many of the 590 produced being exported.