Thailand Buying JAS-39 Gripens, AWACS

 Sweden’s FMV announces  that it has begun delivering Thailand’s 2nd set of fighters, after conveying the 2nd order’s S340 AEW&C plane and RBS-15F missiles. Fighters # 6 – 8 have now been delivered to the Royal Thai Air Force, with stopovers along the way in Hungary, Greece, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and India.

It’s a small, agile fighter that can take off and land on highways, while carrying the latest technologies and weapons. It does very well against NATO’s best aircraft in exercises, comes with a reasonable price tag, and is built for low lifetime operating costs. Unfortunately, in a world where people often buy your weapons because they want you to be their friend, the cachet of having Sweden in your corner isn’t quite what it used to be when their sailors wore those cool horned helmets. As a result, the JAS-39 Gripen is an excellent, reasonably-priced fighter yet it has been struggling for traction in the global marketplace.

A recent sale to Thailand has expanded Saab’s horizons somewhat, as the Gripen beat out the SU-30s favored by the previous Thai government. Lockheed Martin’s F-16 had been considered the leading contender to replace the RTAF’s 15-25 aging F-5B/Es, given Thailand’s extensive history  with that aircraft. Other candidates included Russia’s MiG-29, and France’s Rafale. Saab had a very competitive offering on cost and performance, but in order to win, they had to throw in a very significant “something extra”: their Saab 340-AEW AWACS aircraft.

CAIC WZ-10

WZ-10

Manufacturer: Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) 

Designer: Wu Ximing 

First flight: 29 April 2003 

Introduction: December 2010 

Status: In service 

Primary user: People's Liberation Army 

Number built: 60 (as of 2013) 

Top speed: 300 km/h
Range: 820 km
Length: 14 m
Wingspan: 13 m
Weight: 5,540 kg
Engine type: Turboshaft

PICS OF WZ-10:

source

HTMS Chakri Naruebet

HTMS Chakri Naruebet (Thai จักรีนฤเบศร, meaning "In honour of the Chakri Dynasty") is the flagship of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), and Thailand's first and only aircraft carrier. Based on the Spanish Navy's Principe de Asturias design and constructed by Spanish shipbuilder Bazán, Chakri Naruebet was ordered in 1992, launched in 1996, and commissioned into the RTN in 1997.
The aircraft carrier is designed to operate an air group of V/STOL fighter aircraft and helicopters, and is fitted with a ski-jump. Initial intentions were to operate a mixed air group of Matador V/STOL aircraft and S-70B Seahawk helicopters. However, by 1999, only one Matador was operational, and the entire V/STOL fleet was removed from service in 2006. Although Chakri Naruebet was intended for patrols and force projection in Thai waters, a lack of funding brought on by the1997 Asian Financial Crisis means that the carrier has spent much of her career docked at the Sattahip naval base.
Chakri Naruebet has been deployed on several disaster relief operations, including in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and in response to separate flooding incidents in late 2010 and early 2011. Outside of disaster relief, the carrier's few other departures from port are for a single training day per month, and transportation of theRoyal Family of Thailand, leading to claims by some naval commentators that the ship is merely an oversized royal yacht.
Chakri Naruebet is the first aircraft carrier to be operated by a Southeast Asian nation.^[2] She is assigned to the Third Naval Area Command, and her intended duties include operational support of the RTN's amphibious warfare forces, patrols and force projection around Thailand's coastline and economic exclusion zone, disaster relief and humanitarian missions, and search-and-rescue operations.^{[1][4][5][2][11]} However, at the time the carrier entered service, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis prevented the necessary funding to operate the ship from being available.^[2][11] Consequently, Chakri Naruebet is usually only operational for a single day per month for training, with the rest of the time spent alongside as a "part-time tourist attraction".^[1][2][11] The ship rarely leaves the proximity of the Sattahip naval base, and when she does, it is usually to transport and host the Royal Family of Thailand.^[1][2] Naval commentators consider Chakri Naruebet to be less an aircraft carrier and more the world's most expensiveroyal yacht, while the Thai media have nicknamed the ship "Thai-tanic", and consider her to be a white elephant.^[2][11]

Thai military outline procurement shopping list

A diesel-electric submarine and another batch of six Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen combat aircraft are expected to be high on a shopping list of items that the Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTAF) wants to purchase by 2024.

An RTAF source confirmed to IHS Jane's recently that the list is being put together by RTAF Supreme Commander General Thanasak Patimaprakorn following a request from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is also Defence Minister.