The Myanmar Air Force (also known as the Burmese Air Force), officially Tatmadaw Lei, informally the Lei tat is the air component of the Myanmar Armed Forces, the Tatmadaw. It is involved in counter-insurgency campaigns, and after the deadly Cyclone Nargis of May 2008, in relief missions into the Ayeyarwady River delta.
The Myanmar Air Force was formed on January 16, 1947, while Myanmar (also known as Burma) was still under British rule. By 1948, the new air force fleet included 40 Airspeed Oxfords, 16 de Havilland Tiger Moths, 4 Austers and 3 Supermarine Spitfires with a few hundred personnel. The Mingaladon Air Base, the chief air base in the country, was formed on 16 June 1950. No.1 Squadron, Equipment Holding Unit and Air High Command - Burma Air Force, and the Flying Training School, were placed under the jurisdiction of the base. A few months later, on 18 December 1950, No. 2 Squadron was formed with nine Dakotas as a transport squadron. In 1953, the Advanced Flying Unit with De Havilland Vampire Mark T55s was formed under the Mingaladon Air Base and by the end of 1953, The Burmese Air Force had 3 main airbases, at Mingaladon, Hmawbi and Meiktila, in central Myanmar.
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