Navantia, Thales To Modernise Royal Thai Navy Fleet

SPAIN’S Navantia and France’s Thales will partner to modernise the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) fleet, the first such collaboration between the two companies in Thailand. Thales will supply three Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems for the modernisation of two Pattani-class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) and the upgrade of the HTMS Chang Landing Platform Dock (LPD), to be carried out by Navantia.

The collaboration strengthens Thales’ 55-plus years of support to the RTN, with over 80% of the RTN’s warships are equipped with Thales’ equipment including radars, sonars, mine-hunting systems, fire control and Command & Control (C2) systems.

Thales’ IFF systems can provide seamless integration into existing surveillance radars and Combat Management Systems, providing rapid identification capabilities, providing real-time situational awareness to tackle the emergence of faster-moving threats.

IFF systems can be highly effective components of modern naval operations, helping to distinguish friendly forces from potential threats. The solution works with radar systems to securely identify detected objects, including civil aircraft, and provides cryptographic solutions for identifying targets, helping to prevent friendly fire incidents.

Thales will provide an IFF system with an interrogator as well as a transponder, the company’s TSA3520 interrogator is ideally suited for medium- and long-range surveillance and identification due to its compact design and extensive feature set, as well as its proven integration capabilities with radar and surveillance systems. The TSC4000, a versatile IFF transponder deployed on numerous ships and aircraft worldwide – including integration with demanding UAVs – complement the identification service.

“This reaffirms Navantia’s commitment to delivering state-of-the-art solutions and supporting the strategic needs of the RTN underscoring the excellence in these projects”, Navantia’s Commercial Director for Asia Jose Ignacio Navas said,

Thales Country Director for Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar Nicolas Bernardin added, “Thales has a strong track record in naval modernisation in Thailand and through this contract, we aim to bring new life into the sensor suites of the HTMS Pattani, HTMS Narathiwat and the HTMS Chang – three of the RTN’s formidable warships. Our IFF solutions ensure security, interoperability and discretion, making them the preferred choice of navies worldwide, and we are proud to partner Navantia in this project to ensure Thailand’s maritime superiority.”

The two Pattani-class OPVs and HTMS Chang LPD were all built by China, with the Type 071E HTMS Chang being commissioned into RTN service in April 2023. Earlier, Thales and Universal Communication Systems Co. Ltd. (UCS) signed an agreement for the supply of an Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) on the HTMS Chakri Naruebet aircraft carrier.