Near the end of the war in Vietnam, an American-built Northrop F-5 fighter in South Vietnamese markings dropped bombs on the South Vietnamese Independence Palace shortly before the fall of Saigon.

Dozens of Su-30MK2 and Yak-130 fighter jets and helicopters soared over the Independence Palace in central Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning, rehearsing for an air show marking the 50th anniversary ...