By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE THAI ARMY is alarmingly lagging in the current deployment of drones along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to House Armed Services Committee Chair Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn.
The House committee chair-cum-Move Forward MP said today (June 13) the Thai army is alarmingly falling behind others in terms of drone deployment and relevant modern technology.
That the army reportedly plans to procure an additional fleet of 10 drones for fiscal 2025 will not be enough to meet modern-day threats to Thailand’s national security in western border areas, Wiroj concluded.
According to the House committee chair, the Thai army is evidently lagging behind Myanmar’s Tatmadaw troops and armed ethnic rebels who already use attack drones armed with missiles in addition to surveillance drones.
The army was not reported to have any attack drones and only used surveillance drones to handle the current Thai-Myanmar border situation, Wiroj said.
The House committee chair said the Thai army is using drones from various manufacturing countries such as Israel, Turkey and China with difficulties tactically coordinating with one another during field missions. The army was not reported to have anti-drone weapons either, he said.
“Even drug traffickers and human traffickers in border areas today use drones to find the whereabouts of the authorities,” the Move Forward MP said.
Meanwhile, a sum of 40 million baht in fiscal 2025’s funding for repairs of the army’s wheeled army personnel carriers will be very far from adequate since such rough-terrain combat vehicles are primarily needed to maintain security along the 2,400-km-long Thai-Myanmar border, he said.
CAPTION
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