News Forum - Royal Thai Air Force seeks to buy F-35 jets for at least 18 billion baht

[Thaiger]

Citing their ageing fleet and a need to beef up Thailand’s national defence, the Royal Thai Air Force is seeking to buy 8 F-35 stealth jets. The jets, made in the US by Lockheed Martin, are considered to be the most advanced combat aircraft in the world. The price tag? About 21.78 billion baht. Currently, the air force is flying around in F-5 and F-16 jets – technology from last century as the planes are over 30 years old. Much like humans, planes of a certain age start to require mounting maintenance costs and can pose a safety risk as […]

The story Royal Thai Air Force seeks to buy F-35 jets for at least 18 billion baht as seen on Thaiger News.

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[RampantRabbit]

They  should  mandate   insurance for those  old  jets then

[HiuMak]

It was previously submarines, now F-35 jets, next will be nuclear missiles

[El_Trauco]

Could get these invisible/stealth planes much cheaper. Will have to supply/train their own pilots.

[Jason]

I suppose they better do an upgrade before one or more of the ones they have now, fall from the sky!!!

[ThaiEyes]

“The Royal Thai Air Force Commander in Chief believes the bulk purchase of jets could be bargained down to just US $70 million each.”

—-

What does the commander think? That is is some farang bargaining at Chatuchak Market? He’s an fool if he doesn’t think the US wouldn’t just nail him on parts and maintenance over the years like the damn computer printer manufacturers do

[ThaiEyes]

3 hours ago, RampantRabbit said:

They  should  mandate   insurance for those  old  jets then

And make the pilots wear helmets 

[NCC1701A]

thanks for all the laughs over the years Thailand. 

[NCC1701A]

going to use stealth jets to sneak up on uni girls protesting on Sukhumvet? 

might be hard to get a missile lock under the BTS. 

[Augratin]

Quote

Modern warfare takes place often in the skies and Thailand needs to catch up.

 

Is Thailand anticipating a war?

[KaptainRob]

3 minutes ago, Augratin said:

Is Thailand anticipating a war?

Just stocking up while the current mob hold the purse strings 

[Pinetree]

I commented on this in another post. Its the biggest laugh I have had in years.  Their pilots are just not good enough to operate such complex bits of machinery and they don't need them anyway. Where is the need, where is the threat? Unless they have massively increased their competence in the years since I had anything to do with them, they will be smoking holes in the ground in no time flat. 

[Pinetree]

24 minutes ago, Augratin said:

Is Thailand anticipating a war?

Only with each other 

[ThaiPhilExpat]

I find the timing of these purchases, first submarines and now stealth jets, to be very poorly planned. The world are in a pandemic, people are without jobs, last year food lines was everywhere. Many people didn't qualify for a hand out, and had already sold whatever they could to pay rent and feed themselves.

Very bad timing indeed.

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

6 hours ago, Thaiger said:

the Royal Thai Air Force is seeking to buy 8 F-35 stealth jets

Hope they get this through the budget before the next election …… they may get one ….. with a large maintenance contract … hope the planes are not so stealthy the public won’t see where all the money in brown envelopes goes

[AlexPTY]

i guess they already crashed all old F-16 and F-5

[HolyCowCm]

This was on the main Thai news yesterday and my entire family just choked. Seriously these Junta fatheads need to get out and go away. First it was either submarines and other jets and airplanes, then space travel, and now a ridiculous wanting to purchase F-35's. Are they going to fly them off that ridiculous carrier that never has seen any true light of day except sitting tied up as a museum that only Thai people are able to visit becasue of racism against all others who would visit it. Thye will call it partiotism showing the Thai public, but I call it otherwise.

[DMV]

You should not sell f-35 to Thailand for the same reason you should not sell them to India.  They are friends with the enemy.

[DMV]

2 hours ago, ThaiEyes said:

“The Royal Thai Air Force Commander in Chief believes the bulk purchase of jets could be bargained down to just US $70 million each.”

—-

What does the commander think? That is is some farang bargaining at Chatuchak Market? He’s an fool if he doesn’t think the US wouldn’t just nail him on parts and maintenance over the years like the damn computer printer manufacturers do

thailand will share any f-35 they get with their friend china.  I have absolutely no doubt about that.

[DMV]

1 hour ago, Pinetree said:

I commented on this in another post. Its the biggest laugh I have had in years.  Their pilots are just not good enough to operate such complex bits of machinery and they don't need them anyway. Where is the need, where is the threat? Unless they have massively increased their competence in the years since I had anything to do with them, they will be smoking holes in the ground in no time flat. 

china probably asked he current regime to buy one for them.  wouldn't surprise me one bit.  sneaky.

[Stonker]

7 hours ago, Thaiger said:

The commander feels that the people of Thailand support this acquisition, as the F-35 jet is not a weapon, but rather security reinforcement.

Unsurprisingly but inevitably, Neill Fronde's version is very different from the source article.

What the Bangkok Post actually said was:

"According to ACM Napadej, the air force is not buying weapons but is implementing security to defend the people and the nation's interests. He expressed confidence that if the public is on the same page as the air force, it will support the programme."

Unfortunately for him, the public is very unlikely to be on the same page as the Air Force, although that may make very little difference.

[LoongFred]

2 hours ago, Pinetree said:

I commented on this in another post. Its the biggest laugh I have had in years.  Their pilots are just not good enough to operate such complex bits of machinery and they don't need them anyway. Where is the need, where is the threat? Unless they have massively increased their competence in the years since I had anything to do with them, they will be smoking holes in the ground in no time flat. 

Are you trying to say that the UK pilots are far superior? Ýou might have a basis for comparison but more than likely your views are only a reflection of your snobbery. 

Get a life, with proper training in US, they'll be good to go. 

 

[Poolie]

58 minutes ago, DMV said:

thailand will share any f-35 they get with their friend china.  I have absolutely no doubt about that.

China has had superior planes for a long time. F35's are so yesterdays tech.

[Stonker]

2 hours ago, Pinetree said:

I commented on this in another post. Its the biggest laugh I have had in years.  Their pilots are just not good enough to operate such complex bits of machinery and they don't need them anyway. Where is the need, where is the threat? Unless they have massively increased their competence in the years since I had anything to do with them, they will be smoking holes in the ground in no time flat. 

Thai pilots, if trained, are perfectly capable of flying F 35's - particularly as so few are required.They've managed to keep most of the assorted planes they've got in the air just as well as anyone else - and better than some, given their aircrafts' age and limited flying time due to costs - an F-35 costs $44,000 per hour just to fly.

They certainly don't need them, though, and the biggest problem is simply that they're just not particularly good aircraft even according to the Americans and not able to do what they were intended to.

"To say the F-35 has failed to deliver on its goals would be an understatement. Its mission capable rate is 69 percent, below the 80 percent benchmark set by the military. 36 percent of the F-35 fleet is available for any required mission, well below the required 50 percent standard. Current and ongoing problems include faster than expected engine wear, transparency delamination of the cockpit, and unspecified problems with the F-35’s power module."

"There have been so many problems with the F-35, it’s difficult even to summarize them. Pilot blackouts, premature part failures, software development disasters, and more have all figured in various documents over the years. Firing the main gun can crack the plane. The Air Force has already moved to buy new F-15EX aircraft. Multiple partner nations that once promised F-35 buys have shifted orders to other planes."

"The F-35 is a Ferrari, Brown [USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown Jr] told reporters last Wednesday. “You don’t drive your Ferrari to work every day, you only drive it on Sundays. This is our ‘high end’ [fighter], we want to make sure we don’t use it all for the low-end fight. I want to moderate how much we’re using those aircraft,” Brown said. ”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/02/23/the-us-air-force-just-admitted-the-f-35-stealth-fighter-has-failed/?sh=4ec5adbb1b16

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/320295-the-us-air-force-quietly-admits-the-f-35-is-a-failure

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/305600-the-f-35-is-still-broken-and-the-f-35a-cant-shoot-straight

If the commander of the American Air Force says openly that they're not suitable for a "low-end fight" and general use, I think it's a pretty reasonable assumption that they're not much use to Thailand - just toys for the boys.

[Stonker]

1 hour ago, DMV said:

china probably asked he current regime to buy one for them.  wouldn't surprise me one bit.  sneaky.

Why would China want to copy a plane that even the Americans say isn't able to do the job it was designed to do ?