Thailand picks Saab Gripen E/F

THAILAND’S Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has selected the Gripen E/F from Saab AB for its fighter procurement, ending the heated race between Sweden’s Saab and the US Lockheed Martin which offered its F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft.

RTAF chief Air Chief Marshal Phanpakdee Pattanakul said that Saab and Lockheed Martin had submitted their final proposals which outline offset policy offers as required by the Thai government. The RTAF selection committee had previously favoured the Gripen E/F, citing the aircraft’s suitability to their needs.

Saab’s offset policy offers the RTAF access to its tactical data link which would provide the air force with an advantageous edge in the future, with plans to further develop their own version of the data link called Link T reportedly already in the works. Furthermore, Saab’s offer reportedly also includes upgrades of the air force’s Saab 340 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft without charge. The upgrades would typically cost an estimated US$146 million.

With a current composition of seven squadrons, the air force is expecting to decommission up to three fighter squadrons with 12 jets per squadron due to the increasingly untenable age of the aircraft. ACM Phanpakdee previously stated that the RTAF will have to replace those aircraft to maintain the exact fighter strength in order to not only facilitate training and operations, but to keep up with the number of fighter aircraft maintained by the kingdom’s neighbours. The RTAF is said to have requested an allocation of USD530 million in the 2025 fiscal year to purchase an initial batch of four new fighter aircraft.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:SAAB)