News Forum - Royal Thai Air Force says Thailand needs new fighter jets for national security

[Thaiger]

New fighter jets are needed to improve Thailand’s national security and replace the current aircraft that are due to be decommissioned, according to the Royal Thai Air Force. The air force started a 10-year plan to decommission fighter jets in 2021, cutting the fleet in half by 2032. Officers say new jets are needed for main air defence operations. The air force must also comply with the Defence Ministry’s national security and defence operation strategy, which states that the air force must keep sufficient capability in response to future threats, according to the spokesperson for the Royal Thai Air Force. […]

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[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

The Russians have already annexed Phuket, so who knows....

[anarchofarmer]

What a load of cobblers! Toys for the boys and envelopes for "those who matter".

[Alavan]

At the start of WWII the French had the Surcouf: a sub with an airplane in a watertight hangar on deck.

wouldn’t that be a fantastic idea for the Thai navy/airforce?

[Guest1]

 

Royal Thai Air Force says Thailand needs new fighter jets for national security

Seems like ALL Military (leader), worldwide, see the Russian/Ukraine war as a chance to get what they want for quiet some time: More money, newer and better weapons.

 

[Soidog]

Oh ok. And here’s me thinking it was to help cut the lawn with them. The fact they think such claptrap will justify things is the most alarming part. 

[Guest1]

48 minutes ago, Alavan said:

At the start of WWII the French had the Surcouf: a sub with an airplane in a watertight hangar on deck.

wouldn’t that be a fantastic idea for the Thai navy/airforce?

The Japanese had "submarine-aircraft-carriers" (I-400 class), in WW2. 3 planes on board, Bomber!

Wouldn't that even be better?

[Cabra]

They could use this for Russian tourist repatriation flights

[dj230]

1 hour ago, anarchofarmer said:

What a load of cobblers! Toys for the boys and envelopes for "those who matter".

Ukraine must have thought the same when they handed over their nukes to Russia. 

 

[oldschooler]

2 minutes ago, dj230 said:

Ukraine must have thought the same when they handed over their nukes to Russia. 

Condition of independence. death warrant if retained & used ……

[Vigo]

Who will Thailand airforce defend against? Thailand already subservient to China, and in bed with Myanamar military dictatorship. Who is going to invade Thailand? Laotian vagabonds? Cambodians, because every young Cambodian wishes to  be trafficked into Thailand to be abused? How about Vietnamese dog scavengers since they seem to be implicated in the  dog shipments?

[Tim_Melb]

From who do they think they are going to buy these aircraft from? They certainly aren't getting anything recent from the US after getting into bed with China. Maybe this is why they want to maintain neutral status over Russia. Looking to buy Migs. 

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

5 hours ago, Thaiger said:

New fighter jets are needed to improve Thailand’s national security and replace the current aircraft that are due to be decommissioned, according to the Royal Thai Air Force.

And they are only buying Four ……. That’s an awesome lot of national security …. 
 

5 hours ago, Thaiger said:

The air force must also comply with the Defence Ministry’s national security and defence operation strategy,

….. a strategy that will rely on four new and modern fighter jets …. Whist the navy will tie up the ocean borders with Two submarines …. And the Thai Army I have just read has gone Green and plans to replace old vehicles with electric vehicles (EV), following the government's policy to promote the use of green energy. Seems this Government’s Ministry of Defence has its strategy for defence of the realm firmly in hand. 

[Soidog]

13 minutes ago, AdvocatusDiaboli said:

And they are only buying Four ……. That’s an awesome lot of national security …. 
 

….. a strategy that will rely on four new and modern fighter jets …. Whist the navy will tie up the ocean borders with Two submarines …. And the Thai Army I have just read has gone Green and plans to replace old vehicles with electric vehicles (EV), following the government's policy to promote the use of green energy. Seems this Government’s Ministry of Defence has its strategy for defence of the realm firmly in hand. 

The Thais wouldn’t know how to develop a strategy if their life depended on it. Everything they do is tactical fixes in the hope of landing on the right solution. Like monkeys at a typewriter. Give em long enough and they write the works of Shakespeare. 

[EdwardV]

1 hour ago, Tim_Melb said:

From who do they think they are going to buy these aircraft from? They certainly aren't getting anything recent from the US after getting into bed with China. Maybe this is why they want to maintain neutral status over Russia. Looking to buy Migs. 

I would be surprised if they considered MIGs as they have never bought combat planes from Russia (never mind you probably couldn't get delivery even if you wanted to). You have the additional expense in completely new training and purchasing different weapon systems. There is of course a huge geopolitical aspect with buying combat jets from shall we say the other side. If price is a problem, they could consider buying Chinese jets. Of course you get what you pay for and why almost no one outside of Pakistan purchases them. 

No doubt the idea of getting F-35s out of the US isn't realistic. But they could easily buy new versions of the F-16, or more Swedish Gripens (which Thailand used to soundly beat the Chinese contingent in recent war games). Not that they really need a huge air force, but those old F-5s are not long for this world. If they really need them, I would be buying Gripens or more F-16s. More bang for your Baht. 

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

5 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Give em long enough and they write the works of Shakespeare. 

Your wrong there …. Thai Ministry of Defence hasn’t budgeted for a typewriter, …. And to scared to use General’s for this task (as monkeys to expensive to pay and have to much intelligence that will skew the results). 

[Guest1]

2 hours ago, dj230 said:

Ukraine must have thought the same when they handed over their nukes to Russia. 

They did not gave them to Russia, they kept them from Russia and destroyed them later. Also, they had only long range missiles, nothing to hit Moscow with. NY, Washington, yes, but Moscow was "a bit to close". The mid range missiles got destroyed from the Russians, before leaving.

Actually, the force behind the denuclearization was not Russia. Like with Belarus and other countries, it was the USA! 

[WR2]

Distance yourself from china and we can talk.  Until then, no way you're getting stealth fighters.

[Cathat]

The only way the thai airforce is ever going to get its hands on those state of the art us jet fighters is if airfix start making them.

[kalyan]

good for selfies

bad time for thailand to procure this