Thai Materiel For Bhutan And Asia

Thailand’s Defence Ministry delivered 10 locally manufactured wheeled First Win 4×4 armoured vehicles and a number of small arms for the Royal Bhutan Police for use in its peacekeeping operations.

In a ceremony headed by Thai defence minister Sutin Klungsang, Bhutan’s Bangkok embassy officials representing the police force took delivery of the 10 armoured tactical vehicles (ATV), 200 MI-47 7.62mm carbines and 30 MI-9 handguns.

Designed and built indigenously by Thai Defence Industries Company (TDI), the First Win provides NATO STANAG 4569 Level 2 protection for the maximum 11 personnel onboard and has already been exported to several countries. TDI is a joint venture between Thailand’s armoured vehicle manufacturer Chaiseri and the kingdom’s the Defence Technology Institute (DTI). Additionally, the small arms were produced by another Thai firm, Weapons Manufacture Industries (WMI).

The minister stated that the importance of the private sector in further advancing the kingdom’s defence industry has been noticed and pledged to continue supporting the industry’s export endeavours. Furthermore, he added that TDI is looking to export more defence hardware to Bhutan and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) neighbours.

The defence industry is among the 11 industries that the Thai government is prioritising for economic growth via full governmental support, with discussions on the amendments of various laws regarding the manufacture of arms, income tax and customs regulations in order to facilitate more imports of vital hardware. -shp/adj/dl (Pix:DTI)