(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The United States has intensified its efforts to sell the latest variant F-16 Block 70 fighter jets to Thailand by offering a loan to the Southeast Asian nation to purchase entire fleet of the aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
The Thai government typically acquires fighter jets incrementally, for instance, it might buy four jets this year and another four the following year until it has accumulated 12 jets to form a squadron.
This loan offer was recently disclosed by Thailand’s Defense Minister, Sutin Klungsang.
According to him, the offer was conveyed by the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, Frank Godec, during their meeting at the Ministry of Defense in Bangkok last Thursday.
Sutin stated that during the meeting, Godec proposed a loan to the Thai government for purchasing the F-16 fighter jets in one go, rather than incrementally.
However, the Defense Minister did not reveal the loan amount offered by the U.S. ambassador.
“However, if Thailand accepts the U.S. loan offer, we will have to bear high-interest rates,” he said, adding that other countries have also offered loans to Thailand for acquiring fighter jets.
It is believed that Washington made the loan offer after Bangkok established a special committee to decide on its choice of fighter jets for its air force.
Thailand is expected to announce its preferred fighter jet by the end of this year.
The competition to supply fighter jets to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has intensified between the latest variants of the F-16, the F-16 Block 70, and the latest Gripen variant, the JAS 39 Gripen-E.
Currently, the RTAF operates between 40-50 earlier variant F-16 fighter jets and 12 JAS 39 Gripen C/D jets (though one of these crashed during a demonstration flight in Hat Yai a few years ago).
Recently, SAAB, the developer of the Gripen, opened the doors of its factory in Sweden to Thai media, allowing them to closely observe its advanced facilities.
The media tour included a visit to the Gripen E/F fighter jet manufacturing facilities, the latest variant offered to the RTAF.
SAAB has put forward the latest Gripen E/F variant to Thailand, competing against Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70.
The competition to meet Thailand’s needs is now between SAAB’s Gripen E/F and Lockheed Martin’s latest F-16 Block 70.
Sources cited by the Bangkok Post suggest that the RTAF is likely to choose the Swedish-made Gripen fighter jet, defeating the F-16 Block 70.
Indications that Thailand would select the Gripen have been apparent for several months, but they have become more evident recently with the visit of RTAF Commander ACM Phanpakdee Phattanakul and other senior officers to Sweden early last month for further discussions with SAAB’s senior management.
In May, Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee in the Thai Parliament, Wiroj Lakkhanadisorn, also visited Scandinavia for similar discussions with SAAB’s senior management.
Meanwhile, Robert Bjorklund, Director of the Gripen Campaign in Thailand, as quoted by a major Thai newspaper, said SAAB is offering Thailand a networked sensor fusion system and three advanced radar types.
The advanced radars proposed to equip Thailand’s Gripen E/F fighter jets are the Raven ES-05-AESA, Skyward G-IRST, and Mode 5-IFF.
Regarding the data link system, Bjorklund mentioned that the Gripen E/F fighter jets offered to Thailand are compatible with both the Link-16 data link system and the Link-TH system developed by the RTAF itself. — DSA