Page 29 - ADT JULY - AUGUST 2022 Online Magazine

performance, capability, and versatility, and will
be a force-multiplier for the Royal Thai Army.”
The AH-6 is equipped with an advanced mis-
sion computer that can process heavy data,
as well as quickly share system information
with the other platforms. Production will take
place in Mesa, Arizona, and the aircraft will be
delivered in 2024.

Recently, for the Thai Army, the U.S. adminis- [ COUNTRY FOCUS THAILAND ]
tration has also approved the sale of Raytheon/
Lockheed Martin Javelin Missiles and related
equipment to the Thai armed forces. The value
of the sale is estimated to be US$83.5 million.
Thailand had requested 300 Javelin FGM-148
missiles; and fifty 50 Javelin Command Launch
the 10-year Royal Thai Air Force Purchase and Development (P&D) Units (CLU). This acquisition will allow Javelin to
Plan, and aligns with the country’s so-called S-Curve 11 strategy. replace the Royal Thai Army’s obsolete 106mm
recoilless rifles left over from the Vietnam era.
Textron Aviation Defense training of Thai maintenance profes- The anti-tank Javelin missile is man-portable
sionals will begin in Thailand in 2023, with pilot training to begin in and uses infra-red guidance to engage and hit
Wichita in 2024. The AT-6 are to join the Royal Thai fleet in 2024, its target. The Javelin missiles will be supplied
through the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin
Earlier this year, the US Department of Defence awarded a Joint Venture.
US$103.7m contract to Boeing to supply AH-6 light attack recon- Thai Navy Looks to Modernise
naissance helicopters to the Royal Thai Army. The deal, which will Meanwhile, the Thai Navy is considering a fol-
be through the foreign military sale route, covers eight aircraft, low-on order of frigates with South Korea. The
spares, training devices, support equipment, and technical pub- Thai frigate acquisition project started in 2012
lications. The new helicopters will replace the Royal Thai Army’s and called for the procurement of two modern
fleet of ageing AH-1F Cobras. The procurement of the helicopter surface combatants. The Royal Thai Navy pro-
will make the Royal Thai Army the second international customer cured in 2013 the 3,650-tonne HTMS Bhumibol
of the AH-6.
Adulyadej (FFG 471) frigate from South Korean
shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine
Boeing Attack Helicopter Programmes business development Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME). The vessel was
director Jessie Farrington said: “We welcome Thailand’s selection commissioned in January 2019. Late last year,
of Boeing’s AH-6 light attack reconnaissance helicopter, and look South Korean Defence Minister Wook Suh met
forward to working with the US and Thai governments as part of with Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister and
the foreign military sale process.
Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Thailand,
reportedly to discuss future defence cooper-
“From its unmatched power-to-weight ratio to its extensive, inte- ation.
grated digital communications suite, the AH-6 offers superior
Also, Thailand’s plan to procure its first Chinese
submarine seems to have run into rough
weather with Germany refusing to supply the
engine. The Thai government had planned to
procure two additional submarines from China
but was forced to suspend the plan in 2020
after facing criticism from the public.

"Do we need to buy a submarine without an
engine?" Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-
ocha was quoted by the media. According to
the initial agreement entered into in 2017, the
Thai navy would purchase a submarine from
China for 13.5 billion baht (US$403 million)
and take delivery by the end of 2023. The
state-owned China Shipbuilding & Offshore
International Co. (CSOC), which undertook to

ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY July/August 2022 | 29