The Royal Thai Air Force announced on Tuesday that it has opted to acquire Saab Gripen fighter jets, instead of the F-16s manufactured by Lockheed Martin of the United States.
As announced in early July, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) had previously informed the government of his recommendation to acquire the Swedish fighter jet, although some important details about the US and Swedish proposals were still pending.
The Bangkok Post reported that, after studying the final offers presented by both contenders on August 20, the Air Force selection committee ratified the decision to acquire the Gripen.
These details referred mainly to the so-called offsets, such as technology transfer and training, issues that the Thai Armed Forces have been emphasizing in their acquisitions.
After examining all factors, the RTAF chose the Gripen E/F over the F-16 Block 70/72, according to a statement by ACM Phanphakdee (commander-in-chief of the RTAF). He added that he would now prepare documents to explain to the public and his superiors the details provided by the two manufacturers: the Swedish Saab and the US Lockheed Martin, and to justify his preference.
Apparently, Saab would have offered access to its advanced tactical data link, which will be very useful for accelerating the development of its own version of the technology, called Link T. Sweden would also have proposed to modernize the Erieye airborne surveillance radar system of the Air Force’s Saab 340 AEW free of charge, the source added, noting that this would represent a significant budget saving.
According to the Bangkok Post, the RTAF seeks to quickly acquire four new fighters to begin replacing a dozen old F-16 A/B, which will be retired from service in the near future.
The acquisition now awaits final approval from the new Minister of Defense and the cabinet, which is expected to be formed in the coming days following the recent election of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. ACM Phanphakdee expressed his confidence that they would support the RTAF’s choice.
