Thai Air Force to take delivery of last three Gripen fighter jets

[webfact]

SWEDISH-MADE JETS
Air Force to take delivery of last three Gripen fighter jets
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Royal Thai Air Force took delivery of three Saab Gripen fighter jets yesterday, adding that one of the jets had been struck by lightning while flying over India on the way to Thailand and had sustained minor damage to its electronic system.

In reference to previous reports that the jet had to make an emergency landing in India, Air Force spokesman Air Vice Marshal Monthon Satchukorn said the planes had stopped for fuelling as scheduled and the lightning-struck aircraft was checked and some parts were changed.

Monthon said the condition of the jets was Sweden's responsibility and hence it had to fix everything before handing them over to Thailand. He added that once the fighters arrived at Wing 7 in Surat Thani, Air Force mechanics would check them again before they are used.

These three jets were the last batch of the 12 Gripens the Air Force bought from Sweden and were slated for delivery on Tuesday.


-- The Nation 2013-09-05

[jaidam]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

[bigbamboo]

I doubt it really matters what condition they are in.

They'll most likely never leave the ground anyway.

[noitom]

The Thais are "beefing up." More importantly they are checking up on the Swedes. Wow, these Thais, they even even check upon the Swedish mechanics. Impressive.

[historyprof]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

[Mampara]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

are they just for show, or are they actually going to be used?

[IsaanAndy]

I love sonic booms ...

[Pimay1]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

are they just for show, or are they actually going to be used?

Maybe they will pratice landing them on the Aircraft carrier.

[belg]

how many chickens they gave per plane?

[glegolo]

The Thais are "beefing up." More importantly they are checking up on the Swedes. Wow, these Thais, they even even check upon the Swedish mechanics. Impressive.

Hahahah you are right, it really sounds nice...... Thai mechanics checks up swedish mechanics, hahaha!!!

But I guess it is their right to do it!! As long as they have scotch tape availible everybody happy here....

Glegolo

[chooka]

Take out the jet ski scammers, you have tried everything else to clean them up.

[hellodolly]

The Thais are "beefing up." More importantly they are checking up on the Swedes. Wow, these Thais, they even even check upon the Swedish mechanics. Impressive.

Hahahah you are right, it really sounds nice...... Thai mechanics checks up swedish mechanics, hahaha!!!

But I guess it is their right to do it!! As long as they have scotch tape availible everybody happy here....

Glegolo

You forgot the rubber bands.

Are they equipped for night flying?

[Pimay1]

The Thais are "beefing up." More importantly they are checking up on the Swedes. Wow, these Thais, they even even check upon the Swedish mechanics. Impressive.

Hahahah you are right, it really sounds nice...... Thai mechanics checks up swedish mechanics, hahaha!!!

But I guess it is their right to do it!! As long as they have scotch tape availible everybody happy here....

Glegolo

You forgot the rubber bands.

Are they equipped for night flying?

Never under estimate the talent and proficiency Thais exibit with rubber bands. I purchased a sling shot to keep the dogs out of my front yard. The rubber broke on the second shot. The maid repaired it using 25 short rubber bands on each side. Stronger than the origional and has lasted for two months running.

[Brunovski]

I saw Gripen jets serveral times on the skies of Chiang Mai, so they do take-off from time to time.

I doubt it really matters what condition they are in.

They'll most likely never leave the ground anyway.

[surat04]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

are they just for show, or are they actually going to be used?

One flew over my house about 30 mins ago! Maybe they are trying to clear out the rubber protesters!

[Cuban]

I would be much more interested in what the deployed payloads available to these aircraft would be?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen#Specifications_.28JAS_39_Gripen_C.2FD.29

$300 dumb bombs or $720,000 guided munitions?

[Bagwan]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

And crashed most of them. Is this latest bunch of big boys toys foolproof?

[Dario]

Not really a laughing matter that Thailand bought the Gripen: it's value for money. The Swiss government just approved the purchase of 22 Gripen fighter jets..

[kamahele]

I doubt it really matters what condition they are in.

They'll most likely never leave the ground anyway.

They will leave the ground. We have a place outside of Korat and the fighter jets from the Korat base make frequent practice runs over our cassava fields.

[marell]

I would be much more interested in what the deployed payloads available to these aircraft would be?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen#Specifications_.28JAS_39_Gripen_C.2FD.29

$300 dumb bombs or $720,000 guided munitions?

'Smart' weapons require smart operation; otherwise they become 'dumb' weapons real quick. So the question here is more like...$300 dumb bombs or $720,000 dumb bombs? My guess is the latter (who wants cheap when you can have expensive?), but expect gravity to be the prevailing guidance system.

Edited September 5, 2013 by marell

[rovinman]

The Royal Thai Air Force ordered six Gripens (two single-seat C-models and four two-seat D-models) in February 2008 to replace some F-5s, with deliveries beginning in 2011.
Six more Gripen Cs were ordered in November 2010 with deliveries from 2013.
The Gripens are to be based at Surat Thani Airbase.
The first of the six aircraft were delivered on 22 February 2011. The next three were delivered on 2 April 2013. The remaining three have just beeen delivered .

[ginjag]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

And crashed most of them. Is this latest bunch of big boys toys foolproof?

If any aircraft crashes here I would bet it's because of lack of maintenance /parts to replace worn. not so much the age.

If the new Gripen suits Thai RAF ok, 12 in total, another 12 or 18 F16s would be more than enough to cover any foreign air attacks.

So SCRAP the rest and save money--oops I forgot as you said one needs as many toys as one can get hold of. I did when I was a kid.

[hawker9000]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

are they just for show, or are they actually going to be used?

Maybe they will pratice landing them on the Aircraft carrier.

HTMS Chakri Naruebet can operate with VSTOL aircraft, and Thailand's RTN at one time operated Matador (1st generation export Harriers) aircraft acquired 2nd hand from Spain. As of 1999 there was only one of these left in service. As of 2006 the Matadors were removed from operation with the RTN entirely. Gripen aircraft acquired by the RTAF are somewhat comparable to U.S. F-16 aircraft (more current; more than twice as expensive; somewhat smaller; lighter wing-loading; less thrust-to-weight; better combat radius). They (like F-16s) are not VSTOL aircraft and not at all carrier compatible.

Chakri Naruebet gets very limited underway time, but has been used for disaster relief and occasionally embarks the Royal Family.

Edited September 5, 2013 by hawker9000

[bigbamboo]

And there's an excellent OTOP market on the aircraft carrier very third Sunday of the month too.

[Goshawk]

I saw Gripen jets serveral times on the skies of Chiang Mai, so they do take-off from time to time.

me too...

and at last years '100th anniversary of Thailand's aviation' show, held at Wing 41, i thought it was the star of the show.

[tigermonkey]

I saw Gripen jets serveral times on the skies of Chiang Mai, so they do take-off from time to time.

me too...

and at last years '100th anniversary of Thailand's aviation' show, held at Wing 41, i thought it was the star of the show.

I have never seen any Gripen over Chiang Mai, other than at last years air show. Those two Gripen were from Surat Thani. I am not aware of any Gripen based at Chiang Mai.

Almost every day we see training flights by Wing 41 from Chiang Mai, but those are Czech made Albatross trainers.

[Gummigalgen]

Siam Country Golf ClubBe Considerate When Practicing Hi-lob Shots_WMV V8.wmv

[cabanlit]

They can certainly claim to be the "Military Hub of AEC".

[historyprof]

how many chickens they gave per plane?

In 2013, the Thai government added US$6.1 billion to its total defense budget, recording a CAGR of 5.14% during the review period (2009-13). The budget is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 7.22% over the forecast period (2014-18} and reach US$8.7 billion by 2018. This consistent increase is primarily driven by the need to compensate for the country’s historically low levels of defense spending in the past. Consequently, the Thai Ministry of Defense is expected to acquire a significant amount of materiel during the forecast period.

http://www.asiandefense.com/news_detail.php?id=94

Why on earth would you feel motivated to mock Thailand. I live in Thailand and have a Thai wife and family and take offense to your mockery about chickens. Please don't tell me to get a sense of humor becausse you did not tell a joke. You were trying to belittle Thailand. Mockery is not humor. There is a difference.

[historyprof]

Great news. Regular sonic booms and the roar of low flying jets are just what the islands need, peace and tranquility was so 90's.

Little late to complain. Thailand has had jet fighters since 1956.

And crashed most of them. Is this latest bunch of big boys toys foolproof?

No you are wrong.

Thai Visa rule #15

Not to use ThaiVisa.com to post any material which is knowingly or can be reasonably construed as false, inaccurate.

The following is a list of fighter jets flown by the Thai Air Force. No they did not crash most of them.

B.Kh16 Republic F-84G Thunderjet US 1956-1963 31 first jet fighter

B.Kh17 North American F-86F/L Sabre US 1961-1972 74 First RTAF swept-wing fighter. Replaced by F-5

B.Kh18 Northrop F-5A/B/C US 1966-2008 25 First RTAF supersonic fighter. Its derivatives, F-5E/F/T still in service.

B.J7 Dornier Alpha Jet A Germany strike/trainer 19 n/a Ex-Luftwaffe. 5 spares. 1 lost. RTAF fitted AIM-9P/M.

Bret Cox L-39 - Reno Race -58 .jpg

B.KhF1 Aero L-39A/ART Czech Republic strike/trainer 36 n/a Westernized Aero L-39, with Israeli avionics and AIM-9.

Northrop F-5E (Tail No. 01557) 061006-F-1234S-073.jpg

B.Kh18 Northrop F-5E/F/T United States fighter-bomber 27 n/a F-5T and some F-5E/F to Capability Improved Program.

F-16 June 2008.jpg

B.Kh19 General Dynamics F-16A/B Block 15OCU/ADF/MLU United States multirole fighter 56 n/a 12 F-16A and 6 F-16B undergoing MLU[2]

JAS Gripen.jpg

B.Kh20 Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen Sweden multirole fighter 8 C 4 D n/a 6 delivered 2011, 3 delivered 2013, 3 more to be delivered 2013.[3]