Pictures courtesy of Matichon

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has announced plans to host the “NEXT GENERATION AIR POWER” event, marking Thailand’s first formal push to develop female fighter pilots. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the recruitment of female commissioned officers in the pilot corps and signals a significant shift in military aviation policy.

The event will take place on Monday, 2 February, at the Royal Thai Air Force and National Aviation Museum. Air Chief Marshal Seksan Kantha, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force, will preside over the ceremony, underscoring the importance of the initiative at the highest level of command.

The programme forms part of a broader public relations campaign to encourage women to apply for pilot training. It is intended to lay the groundwork for producing Thailand’s first female fighter pilots, a role previously unavailable to women in the country’s air force.

According to the RTAF, the event will feature a special briefing by representatives from the Kamphaeng Saen Flight School in Nakhon Pathom province. They will provide detailed explanations of the application process and the competitive selection examinations required for pilot training.

Attendees will also hear from the first group of female commissioned officers serving as pilots in the Royal Thai Air Force. These officers are expected to share their experiences and perspectives on serving the country in aviation roles, offering insight into training and operational duties.

Air Chief Marshal Seksan has previously explained the rationale behind expanding recruitment to include women in combat aviation. At present, the Royal Thai Air Force has seven female pilots flying transport aircraft and additional female pilots are set to be recruited this year.

He noted that Thailand’s declining birth rate has reduced the pool of male candidates traditionally interested in becoming fighter pilots. Opening recruitment to women is therefore seen as a practical measure to prevent future shortages of combat pilots.

The air force has also pointed to international precedents, noting that women serve as fighter pilots in countries such as the United States and across Europe. Officials emphasised that the move aligns with broader organisational changes, including renaming the Air Force Wives Association to the Air Force Spouses Association and formally embracing gender diversity and equality.

Matichon reported that the NEXT GENERATION AIR POWER event is expected to serve as a foundation for future policy and recruitment changes. It represents a step towards long-term planning to ensure operational readiness while reflecting evolving social and demographic realities in Thailand.

Key Takeaways

• The Royal Thai Air Force will host NEXT GENERATION AIR POWER on 2 February to promote female pilot recruitment.

• Seven women currently fly transport aircraft, with plans to expand towards female fighter pilots.

• The initiative responds to demographic decline and aligns with global and domestic equality trends.

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Matichon 2026-01-29

 

 

As long as "she" is qualified

Still several decades behind most of the rest of the world.

Thailand has a long way to go to enter the 21st Century.

Hilarious, just recently after Chinese fighter pilots were all over social media, another Thai rip off...

An if a war looms, the female pilots will all register pregnant, like their army or navy sisters.

Female, Boring.....How about a transgender fighter pilot?

34 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

Female, Boring.....How about a transgender fighter pilot?

Men are already allowed to fly fighters.

On 1/29/2026 at 7:36 AM, Asean Tiger said:

As long as "she" is qualified

She will be qualified

Beautiful

Natural big boobs

Photogenic

Can fly a plane

Has the right connection

Marketable and good talker

Looks hot in flight suit

Changing the cockpit into a box office

On 1/29/2026 at 8:31 AM, JimHuaHin said:

Still several decades behind most of the rest of the world.

Thailand has a long way to go to enter the 21st Century.

exactly which part of the 21st century should Thailand aspire to enter, and why?

Personally I see no improvement over the last century,

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

She will be qualified

Beautiful

Natural big boobs

Photogenic

Can fly a plane

Has the right connection

Marketable and good talker

Looks hot in flight suit

very patriotic

An "inspiration" to all Thai women

Active on social media

hopefully accompanied by a proper male pilot at all times and of course grounded for a few days every month

On 1/29/2026 at 4:58 AM, Georgealbert said:

He noted that Thailand’s declining birth rate has reduced the pool of male candidates traditionally interested in becoming fighter pilots.

I would have expected stricter selection requirements for becoming a fighter pilot than simply being interested

On 1/29/2026 at 4:58 AM, Georgealbert said:

Officials emphasised that the move aligns with broader organisational changes, including renaming the Air Force Wives Association to the Air Force Spouses Association and formally embracing gender diversity and equality.

Oh deary deary me , it appears a bit of wokeness is creeping in to the military "community"

They just need to find a Black one, a gay one, and a cross dresser to complete the holy trinity, oh and one with a disability of course

another non benefit of the god forsaken 21st Century.

Quotas, Quotas Quotas

Will "Dog" fight" still be used to describe Plane on Plane combat ?

In my opinion many Thai women are quite extraordinary and oftentimes it seems as if this nation would fall apart without them, so I think they should be allowed to perform this task and my guess is if well-trained they would be just as capable as men, if not more so. This is good and it's a step forward for the nation.

RTAF taking bids now for large guage relief tubes.

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

In my opinion many Thai women are quite extraordinary and oftentimes it seems as if this nation would fall apart without them, so I think they should be allowed to perform this task and my guess is if well-trained they would be just as capable as men, if not more so. This is good and it's a step forward for the nation.

Nope....Women belong in massage shops, GoGo bars, 7-11 girls and hair salons....

25 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

Nope....Women belong in massage shops, GoGo bars, 7-11 girls and hair salons....

One hope that you are saying that in satire and in jest. Otherwise you were born in the wrong century.

47 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

Nope....Women belong in massage shops, GoGo bars, 7-11 girls and hair salons....

and of course the kitchen, Suitable "careers" are limited to Secretary, Nurse, or Teaching assistant,

If they are so vital to the cohesion of the nation, do we really want them flitting around in military aircraft? Surely they should all be too busy for such nonsense, Its bad enough allowing them to drive

Now keenly awaiting a cavalcade of thumbs downs from the triggered white knight feminist singletons on here, rushing in to chivalrously defend their honour'

Pro tip for such losers,... women don't respect your sort, they despise you. What they need is a real man to submit to, one who will put them firmly in their place , one who they can respect. I just wish somebody would tell my mrs

34 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

One hope that you are saying that in satire and in jest. Otherwise you were born in the wrong century.

Nah. He, like the rest of us , was born in the right century, Its the current one that is currently going wrong,

It could well be the final century as far as humanity is concerned , it certainly will be for all of us on this forum

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

In my opinion many Thai women are quite extraordinary

indeed they are , and many of them in a not particularly good way, as evidenced many times on this forum ,

We are now almost legally obliged to consider them and everybody else as equals, so, bearing that in mind, reports like this are actually quite condescending, maybe one of the "white knights" should make a stand ?

Troll post removed.

@Bday Prang final warning rule 9. You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages. You will respect other members and post in a civil manner. Personal attacks, insults or hate speech posted on the forum or sent by private message are not allowed.
 
10. You will not post troll messages. Trolling is the act of purposefully antagonizing forum members by posting controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages with the primary intent of provoking other members into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.

38 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

indeed they are , and many of them in a not particularly good way, as evidenced many times on this forum ,

We are now almost legally obliged to consider them and everybody else as equals, so, bearing that in mind, reports like this are actually quite condescending, maybe one of the "white knights" should make a stand ?

Well my heart goes out to you for having had such bad experiences with Thai women. Some of us are considerably more fortunate having met many exceptional Thai women, and in my particular case living with a wonderful Thai woman who I deeply respect and adore.

52 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Nah. He, like the rest of us , was born in the right century, Its the current one that is currently going wrong,

It could well be the final century as far as humanity is concerned , it certainly will be for all of us on this forum

While I do agree with you that humanity is going downhill rapidly, I do not agree that this will be our last century. I think what will happen is that the quality of life will continue to diminish for those who we leave behind, and that's one of the primary reasons why I decided to not have kids in this lifetime, and it was one of my wisest decisions so far.

I consider social media to be the most destructive force in contemporary culture today. Children are growing up now in a world where they expect immediate response, gratification and notification. Their brains no longer have time to evolve; they must adapt to change in an instant, and the results are distressing. The difficulties of growing up have never been so public. Social technology provides a platform where things can run wild. Imagine the stress of high school – the competition for popularity, the pressure to fit in, the judgmental nature of social activities – at an accelerated pace. We try to protect our children from wandering off into the darkness on their own, and it turns out they are doing exactly that – online. When they get older and “ready,” we send them off to college, where they face more pressures.

But social media has an infamous dark side and the more people share, the more serious this side becomes. As it turns out, living your life online has serious consequences for your self-esteem, your relationships, and your career prospects. 

6 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

While I do agree with you that humanity is going downhill rapidly, I do not agree that this will be our last century.

Well that remains to be seen i guess

6 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I decided to not have kids in this lifetime, and it was one of my wisest decisions so far.

same same

7 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I consider social media to be the most destructive force in contemporary culture today.

Totally agree

7 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

As it turns out, living your life online has serious consequences for your self-esteem, your relationships, and your career prospects. 

could not agree more

3 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Well that remains to be seen i guess

same same

Totally agree

could not agree more

We tend to disagree on a lot of topics but it seems like we're on the same page with regard to this one. I will raise a glass to that!

4 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

17 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Well my heart goes out to you for having had such bad experiences with Thai women. Some of us are considerably more fortunate having met many exceptional Thai women, and in my particular case living with a wonderful Thai woman who I deeply respect and adore.

I don't require any sympathy in that respect , I was sure I already posted in this thread that I have also been lucky enough to have married somebody far better than I deserve. Although in fairness I think it was "disappeared"

in my comment you replied to I referred to the numerous examples on this forum of people who have not been so lucky , I was not citing personal experience, as I said I am very fortunate

8 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

We tend to disagree on a lot of topics but it seems like we're on the same page with regard to this one. I will raise a glass to that!

i think we only disagree on one topic

On 1/29/2026 at 8:31 AM, JimHuaHin said:

Still several decades behind most of the rest of the world.

Thailand has a long way to go to enter the 21st Century.

Popular post I see 🙈 🤔😁

Expats cave men club disagree!

Isn't Queen Suthida a qualified military pilot. So nothing new really.

On 1/29/2026 at 8:47 AM, JackGats said:

An if a war looms, the female pilots will all register pregnant, like their army or navy sisters.

How many more decades do you think there will be physically pilots in combat?

They will most likely fly Escort missions of politicians, and that's about it!

3 minutes ago, DaLa said:

Isn't Queen Suthida a qualified military pilot. So nothing new really.

She is a civilian pilot given military rank. It's a big step from cargo planes, helicopters to fighter jets. Huge step in physically demanding as well mental.