FOREIGN Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said during a visit to Sweden that the Nordic country is concerned about tensions along Thai-Cambodian border following the neighbouring country’s use of human shields and that he will raise this issue at a UN meeting in Geneva tomorrow, Naewna newspaper said this evening (Aug. 26). Earlier Maris and
Tag: fighter
Cambodia-based scammers’ income equals cost of nearly 300 F-16 jets
By Thai Newsroom Reporters ONLINE SCAMS based in Cambodia, operated by criminals hiding out in the Southeast Asian country and preying on victims worldwide were believed to account for an estimated 19 billion dollars in illicit income per year, former Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy remarked today (Aug.13). According to Rainsy’s latest post on
Read moreGripen jets used in real combat for the first time ever by Thai air force
By Thai Newsroom Reporters JAS 39 GRIPEN fighter jets engaged in real combat for the first time ever on Friday during the Thai air force’s air strike missions against invading Cambodian forces in Thailand’s disputed border areas. Since the first Gripen jet was manufactured by SAAB in Sweden in 1987, the aircraft has never
Read moreFighter purchase deal to be done under ‘offset policy’: PM
By Thai Newsroom Reporters PRIME MINISTER SRETTHA Thavisin today (July 16) reconfirmed that a fighter purchase deal between Thailand and a manufacturing country would likely be done on the basis of an “offset policy.” In a press conference at Government House, the Pheu Thai-attached prime minister reiterated that the air force’s sought-after squadron of
Read morePM mum on Swedish lobby on air force’s fighter purchase plan
By Thai Newsroom Reporters PRIME MINISTER SRETTHA Thavisin today (June 25) remained tightlipped over alleged lobbying on the part of a Swedish banker/industrialist to prompt the Thai air force to purchase a squadron of Swedish-built Gripen fighter jets. The prime minister told reporters at Government House that Marcus Wallenberg visited him yesterday but declined
Read moreAir force to choose to buy either F-16 Block 70/72 or JAS 39E fighter jets in June
By Thai Newsroom Reporters THE AIR FORCE IS scheduled in the upcoming June to choose to purchase either a squadron of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72 Fighting Falcon or a squadron of Saab JAS 39E Gripen fighter jets, according to air force chief ACM Panpakdee Pattanakul. Both types of combat aircraft have so far
Read moreFeature: Thai air force’s fighter choices – why pay more?
GIVEN TODAY’S ECONOMIC circumstances which are quite far from concrete recovery, Thailand would be best suited with a planned procurement of cost-saving, upgraded combat aircraft in lieu of state-of-the-art, air-supremacy ones whilst a human factor should also be taken into account, according to a former fighter pilot. Anudit Nakorntap, the former air force captain
Read moreSingapore buys eight F-35A fighters in addition to 12 F-35B jets
By Thai Newsroom Reporters SINGAPORE HAS NOW placed a purchase order for eight Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, confirmed an air force source yesterday (Feb. 28). Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has confirmed to lawmakers during yesterday’s budget debate that the eight F-35A fighters will add to a dozen F-35B jets
Read moreAir force seeks 19 billion baht in funding for new fighters
By Thai Newsroom Reporters THE AIR FORCE IS LOOKING FOR a sum of 19 billion baht in funding for next fiscal year for the planned procurement of new squadrons of fighters to replace the ageing ones scheduled to be decommissioned in the next four years, air force chief ACM Panpakdee Patanakul confirmed today (Jan.30).
Read moreUS offers faster 4.5-generation F-16 fighter jets to Thailand
UPON postponing the sale of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters to Thailand earlier this week US offered the faster 4.5-generation F-16 warplanes in its place, Matichon newspaper said today (May 25). AVM Praphas Sornchaidee, Thai air force spokesman, said US Ambassador Robert F. Godec stated in his talks with Air Force Chief
Read moreAir force’s F-5 fighter jets now upgraded
By Thai Newsroom Reporters A SQUADRON OF F-5TH Super Tigris fighter jets of the air force have already been upgraded for a 10-year service from now, confirmed an air force officer over the weekend. Elbit Systems of Israel and Thai Aviation Industries were contracted for the five-year modification programmes for the 13 Northrop F-5
Read moreUS tries to woo India away from Russia with display of F-35s, bombers
By Reuters and published by CNA Bengaluru – The United States brought its most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, to India for the first time this week alongside F-16s, Super Hornets and B-1B bombers as Washington looks to woo New Delhi away from its traditional military supplier, Russia. India, desperate to modernise its largely
Read moreProcurement of first two F-35A fighters likely delayed till 2034
By Thai Newsroom Reporters THAILAND’S PLANNED PROCUREMENT of the first couple of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighters might probably not be delivered until 2034, an air force source said over the weekend. The air force’s initial procurement of two F-35A fifth-generation, stealth fighters has been earlier planned for delivery in 2032 but it
Read moreIndia bids to sell fighter jets to Malaysia, says 6 other countries interested
By Reuters and published by The Star New Delhi – India has offered to sell 18 light-combat aircraft (LCA) “Tejas” to Malaysia, the defence ministry said on Friday (August 5), adding that Argentina, Australia, Egypt, the United States, Indonesia, and the Philippines were also interested in the single-engine jet. The Indian government last year
Read moreOnly 2 out of 5 air force wings likely operable over next 10 years
By Thai Newsroom Reporters ONLY TWO OUT OF Thailand’s five wings might probably be operable at combat-ready level with upgraded fighter jets over the next 10 years, said an air force officer today (August 2). Only the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons jets currently deployed at Wing 4 in Nakhon Sawan and Saab JAS39
Read morePick-up truck hit with shrapnel from Myanmar MiG-29 jet’s gunfire
SOLDIERS, police and village leaders came to inspect a pick-up truck hit with shrapnel from gunfire that Myanmar’s MiG-29 fighter jet let loose at a palm plantation in Tak when it intruded into Thai airspace on Thursday but initially have not been able to assess the damage, Sanook.com said today (July 2). Mrs. Juthamas
Read morePrayut, air force chief to be summoned for House testimony over Myanmar MiG-29 intrusion
By Thai Newsroom Reporters PRIME MINISTER-CUM-DEFENCE Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and air force chief ACM Napadej Dhupatemiya will be obliged to testify before the House Armed Services Committee over yesterday’s (June 30) crossborder intrusion into Thai airspace by a Myanmar MiG-29 jet, an opposition MP said today (July 1). Thai Civilized party leader/MP Mongkolkit Suksintharanon
Read moreTwo Thai F-16 fighters deter Myanmar’s intruding MiG-29 jet
By Thai Newsroom Reporters TWO OF THE THAI air force’s F-16 fighter jets today (June 30) took to the sky over the Thai-Myanmar border to deter a surprise flyby of a Myanmar MiG-29 jet reported to have intruded into Thai airspace. Thai air force spokesman VM Prapat Sonjaidee confirmed that the Myanmar MiG-29 Fulcrum
Read moreF-16 Fighter crashlands in Chaiyaphum, lone pilot jettisoned to safety
By Thai Newsroom Reporters AN AIR FORCE F-16 Fighting Falcon jet today (Mar.8) crashlanded in Chaiyaphum province with the lone pilot having jettisoned to safety. The unidentified pilot who ejected himself from the General Dynamics F-16A fighter jet and was safely parachuted onto the ground was conducting a routine exercise when the combat aircraft
Read moreThailand approves B13.8 billion budget for fighter jets upgrade
By Reuters staff, published by Channel NewsAsia THAILAND’S cabinet has backed a plan to buy four fighter jets starting in the next fiscal year, an air force spokesman said today (Jan. 12), with a budget of 13.8 billion baht (US$413.67 million) set aside for the procurement. The approval follows a recent expression of interest
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