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Thai air force expects update from the US mid-year on F-35 fighter jets


snoop1130

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On 1/1/2023 at 5:03 PM, mfd101 said:

even if RTAF pilots could qualify to fly them

Why would RTAF fighter pilots not be able to fly an F-35 with the appropriate training that no F-35 pilot goes without?   The air force already operates many fighter aircraft from the US and Europe.

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13 hours ago, futsukayoi said:

The hordes of Russian tourists here make it clear which side Thailnd is allied with over the Ukraine

You do know that there are Ukrainians here also, yes, and that Thailand isn't bringing any of the Russians here, they're all here voluntarily, same as Ukrainian visitors?

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12 hours ago, ozfarang said:

So there is no need for Thailand to purchase 2 aircraft if they will only used for training and exercises with other allies.

 

Very expensive way of running a small air force

Something that shouldn't be concerning you unless you're involved in the RTAF budgeting programme.

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11 hours ago, ozfarang said:

Yes, but will the US sell the sophisticated control software that will be used in US F-35's or much degraded system for Thailand

Obviously, if the purchase goes ahead, the aircraft will be supplied with whatever systems are necessary for them to operate.

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11 hours ago, ozfarang said:

With these eight countries as program partners for the F-35, the US, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada. 

Countries who operate or have ordered the F35

Australia,Belgium,Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.

 

Thailands chance being on the list in the future is questionable, if not highly unlikely.

Why?

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8 hours ago, billd766 said:

Just supplying the aircraft is easy. However the training of extra air crews is lengthy and expensive let alone training the ground crews and providing spares, tools and backup is also lengthy and expensive.

That'd be all part of any sale package...obviously.

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7 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

Just one more thing to consider is the helmet for the F-35 is over $200,000.  

What the heck. Shoot for the moon and request to purchase the B-21 Raider as well.  I believe this aircraft will cost over $100,000 per hour to operate. 

Apparently not...

 

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1 hour ago, Nsp64 said:

Because their health system works, education is good,  poverty minimal,  social welfare high.

In other words,  their house is in order,  so they can buy planes because they've fulfilled their primary obligations to the electorate.

Completely the opposite to Thailand. 

 

Your argument was that Thailand wasn't facing a realistic threat. That situation applies to most other countries as well. You're just deflecting here. You can't make that argument as a criticism for Thailand wanting those planes and dismiss it for other countries because they apparently have money to waste in your opinion.

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42 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That'd be all part of any sale package...obviously.

Not necessarily.

 

It depends on what you are buying and that will be laid out in the contract between the Thai government and Lockheed-Martin.

 

Thailand wants to buy two F35s. Training aircrew, groundcrew and support equipment will come under separate contracts.

 

There are NO 2 seat trainer F35s, so long before any Thai pilot goes solo there 

 

Aircrew training will probably be done under contract to the US Air Force. The groundcrew training may be done the same way or perhaps by a different company.

 

There is no your word, obviously, about it at all.

 

Nothing is free nowadays.

 

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/f-35-lightning-ii-training-systems.html

 

 

Edited by billd766
corrected some bad spelling
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3 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Not necessarily.

 

It depends on what you are buying and that will be laid out in the contract between the Thai government and Lockheed-Martin.

 

Thailand wants to buy two F35s. Training aircrew, groundcrew and support equipment will come under separate contracts.

 

There are NO 2 seat trainer F35s, so long before any Thai pilot goes solo there 

 

Aircrew training will probably be done under contract to the US Air Force. The groundcrew training may be done the same way or perhaps by a different company.

 

There is no your word, obviously, about it at all.

 

Nothing is free nowadays.

 

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/f-35-lightning-ii-training-systems.html

They have flight training simulators so it won't take Thai airmen any longer to train than a US airman.

 

Why does there necessarily need to be an additional contract for ground crew and support? I would expect those to be trained in the US as well, maybe even in Singapore.

 

 

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6 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The B-21 is the US Air Force newest Stealth Bomber set to replace the B-2 Spirit. Just about everyone knows the per hour cost to operate the F-35.  The acquisition cost for the advanced helmet that the pilot of the F-35 wears is over $200,000.  This cost does not factor into the per hour cost to fly the JSF F-35. 

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If the US goes through with the sale anything classified about it will no longer be -- you'll be able to set your stopwatch the moment the last Yank is no longer watching.  There will be an auction for first peek, mostly likely Russia or China.  Or Iran. 

Iran?  You've heard about the Russians using Iranian drones.  Ever wonder how Iran got into the drone business?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–U.S._RQ-170_incident

 

 

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