Two pilots killed in a training exercise two weeks ago have been honoured as martyrs and will be given posthumous promotions in recognition of their service to Vietnam, the National Defense Ministry said.

Near PhuQuy Island, where two fighter jets crashed, killing both pilots

Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Nghia was promoted to senior lieutenant-colonel, while Captain Nguyen Anh Tu was raised to major.

Both pilots were recognised as martyrs.

Search teams recovered the bodies of the two pilots from the wreckage of their Su-22 fighter jets, which crashed into the sea 15km north of Phu Quy Island while on a training exercise from Air Division 370, based at Thanh Son Military Airport in Ninh Thuan Province, on April 16.

The two fighter jets are believed to have collided in mid-air, but the flight recorders of the aircraft have yet to be recovered.

Fishermen reported seeing the jets collide and crash into the sea. They did not see any parachutes.

Tu's body was found on May 1, in the same area as that of Ngia, which was found in the remains of the cockpit of his crashed jet on April 28.

A funeral service for the two pilots will be held in HCM City on May 3.

They will be buried in the martyrs’ cemeteries in their hometowns of Hanoi and Haiphong City.

dtinews