Govt Approves 8.8 Billion Baht Combat Jet Deal

[snoop1130]

Govt Approves 8.8 Billion Baht Combat Jet Deal

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter

 

Two T-50TH combat jets seen here in a promotional image released by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd.

 

BANGKOK — The military government Tuesday greenlit a plan to buy eight combat aircrafts from South Korea at the price of 8.8 billion baht for training purposes.

 

Defense minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the T-50H fighters are needed to replace the current fleet of training aircrafts which have been used for 30 years. He also maintained that the deal is transparent and will be conducted between the two governments.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2017/07/11/govt-approves-8-8-billion-baht-combat-jet-deal/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2017-7-11

[midas]

Good grief submarines and now new fighter jets

I wonder who they're expecting will invade Thailand?

[MatteoBassini]

Makes sense for South Korea to have conscription and these jets considering who is their neighbor... but doesn't make any sense at all for Thailand.

[snoop1130]

Thai Air Force to get South Korean T-50TH fighter training aircraft

By WASAMON AUDJARINT, THE NATION

 

 

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Bt8.8-billion purchase of eight T-50TH Golden Eagle fighter training aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) of South Korea, which the military said would not be too much of a burden on the national budget.
 

The purchase of the aircraft brings the total value of military hardware bought under the ruling junta since the coup of 2014 to a total of Bt 72.7 billion. 

 

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said the new pilot trainers will replace the retiring, out-of-date fleet of L-39ZA/ART jets from Czechoslovakia, which have been in use for more than two decades and have high maintenance costs.

 

The new aircraft are being bought to keep up with the modern technology of the Saab JAS-39C/D Gripen aircraft that the Air Force currently uses, Prayut said. 

 

“It will only bring more damage if we provide insufficient training [to pilots],” Prayut said. “Also, I assure you that we are not bound by any party when it comes to hardware purchase.”

 

The Thai Air Force also uses an upgraded version of the F-16 A/B fighting jets from the United States.

 

Air Force sources said that the South Korean aircraft’s features are similar to the F-16 fighters but they are less expensive.

 

The purchase would be done in a government-to-government deal, according to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. “The deal will be done transparently,” he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

 

Documents and details on the Cabinet’s approval were not revealed as they were marked confidential, a usual practice when the government considers procurement of military hardware.

 

The new procurement constitutes the second batch of T-50THs. The Air Force signed a Bt3.7-billion contract with KAI to buy four T-50THs in September 2015, with delivery due in 2018.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30320493

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-7-11

[Psimbo]

33 minutes ago, midas said:

Good grief submarines and now new fighter jets

I wonder who they're expecting will invade Thailand?

 

Good grief- government purchases MODERN jet trainers to replace OUTDATED jet trainers. It's a bloody disgrace isn't it!

 

Armed forces are about deterrent as well as offensive action btw.

 

At USD32 million a pop they do seem more than a tad expensive though.

[overherebc]

Serious question only to do with numbers.

Can someone please post 1 billion and one trillion as is understood? ie 1 and the required number of zeros.

Or write it as 1 million million or 1000 million whatever, I really don't understand it.

[YetAnother]

misguided budget priorities

[Dave67]

Military acting like a kid who can pick what they want in a toy shop 2 minutes before it closes

[BigBadGeordie]

18 minutes ago, Dave67 said:

Military acting like a kid who can pick what they want in a toy shop 2 minutes before it closes

But it looks like this toy shop visit may last another 20 years.

[bangrak]

That 'Staff Reporter,' Mr Teeranai, who is writing about aeronautics, writes as if he is a bit in trouble with the matter: there are combat aircrafts (hunters, interceptors, reconnaissance, bombers, quite a few specialties, but mostly in essence polyvalent, with exceptions, like heavy bombers), which are built... to be used in combat, there are, also, training aircrafts, ...which are built to train airforce pilots to fly... combat planes (though these training planes mostly have the capacity to be armed, and have a, limited, capability of use in combat situations). Well, Mr Teeranai, as you know all of this, and more (why would you otherwide be authorised to write about it...?), why did you then find the need to choose for such a sensational title for your piece: 'combat jet'? Come on! No Sir!

And while I also look with a critical eye, to say the least, at some, many, spendings by the Thai military for purchase of equipment, the replacement of the old, obsolete (maintained 'à-la-Thai'?) L-39s had, indeed, become urgent, not only on technology and flight experience sides, but, I guess, for the safety of the next generations of RTAF jet pilots.

Or would it be that Mr Teeranai wants to be part of that 'trend', of automatically, totally, criticising, in a very negative, and often insidious(!), way, each and every move made by the military...? Could your choice of this title, maybe, have been 'politically motivated'? 

[Thechook]

Wow this military junta are now licking the trough for what's left.  They really are spending the countries every dollar on themselves and who cares about the people of Thailand.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Thechook

[darksidedog]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

“The deal will be done transparently,” he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

 

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Documents and details on the Cabinet’s approval were not revealed as they were marked confidential

And how exactly is it transparent when no one can see any of the documents to check?

Oh well, at least they will have something to look for the sub with when it sinks.

[bangrak]

22 minutes ago, Thechook said:

Wow this military junta are now licking the trough for what's left.  They really are spending the countries every dollar on themselves and who cares about the people of Thailand.

You see, 'Staff Reporter' Mr Teeranai, this is the kind of posts we get then, like from this 'Thechook', maybe(!?) not having a clue about the need for replacement for the L-39 and the pertinent purchase of more T-50s, but very strong in his ('politically motivated'?) criticism... As if democratic governments didn't purchase equipement for the military, even in TRT-PPP-PTP days... 

[baboon]

27 minutes ago, bangrak said:

You see, 'Staff Reporter' Mr Teeranai, this is the kind of posts we get then, like from this 'Thechook', maybe(!?) not having a clue about the need for replacement for the L-39 and the pertinent purchase of more T-50s, but very strong in his ('politically motivated'?) criticism... As if democratic governments didn't purchase equipement for the military, even in TRT-PPP-PTP days... 

Liberal use of the inverted comma does not replace the need for actual arguments. It just makes the author look like a tenth rate muckraker to any discerning reader.

Just thought you might like to know...

Edited July 11, 2017 by baboon

[chickenslegs]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

Serious question only to do with numbers.

Can someone please post 1 billion and one trillion as is understood? ie 1 and the required number of zeros.

Or write it as 1 million million or 1000 million whatever, I really don't understand it.

I think it is pretty much accepted now that 1 billion is one thousand million (1,000,000,000) and 1 trillion is one thousand billion (1,000,000,000,000).

 

In the UK 1 billion used to be one million million (1,000,000,000,000) and a trillion was 1 million million million (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) but the UK has fallen into line with the more popular international values.

[Becker]

26 minutes ago, bangrak said:

You see, 'Staff Reporter' Mr Teeranai, this is the kind of posts we get then, like from this 'Thechook', maybe(!?) not having a clue about the need for replacement for the L-39 and the pertinent purchase of more T-50s, but very strong in his ('politically motivated'?) criticism... As if democratic governments didn't purchase equipement for the military, even in TRT-PPP-PTP days... 

Tell me when were the armed forces ever controlled by an elected government? You're not seriously suggesting that the various Shin administrations actually had control over the military, do you??

[losworld]

2 hours ago, Psimbo said:

 

Good grief- government purchases MODERN jet trainers to replace OUTDATED jet trainers. It's a bloody disgrace isn't it!

 

Armed forces are about deterrent as well as offensive action btw.

 

At USD32 million a pop they do seem more than a tad expensive though.

Deterrent from what and who?  UFO's? Elephhan invasion from Cambodia or Myanmar?  Ridiculous spending and to call it defence spending is an oxymoron.  

[halloween]

24 minutes ago, Becker said:

Tell me when were the armed forces ever controlled by an elected government? You're not seriously suggesting that the various Shin administrations actually had control over the military, do you??

We are all very thankful that that was not achieved, despite best efforts.

[starky]

2 hours ago, midas said:

Good grief submarines and now new fighter jets

I wonder who they're expecting will invade Thailand?

Well it's only fair everyone gets their beaks wet. Navy gets subs. Army gets tanks. Airforce gets planes. Everybody happy.

[Cool Guy 5000]

They are only ensuring sure that the total 2017 defense budget is exhausted, the 2018 defense budget starts in September. The 2017 defense budget amounted to 210.7 billion Thai baht ($6.1 billion), and is only an increase of about 2% (220 million Thai baht) over the 2016 defense budget. This amount is about 7 percent of the total government expenditure  and around 1.5 percent of the country’s GDP. Both of those figures are well in line with the general trend over the past decade or so, where Thailand, despite having one of Southeast Asia’s highest levels of defense spending, has lagged behind the regional average percentage-wise on both counts due to lack of investment by previous governments.

[Becker]

2 hours ago, halloween said:

We are all very thankful that that was not achieved, despite best efforts.

So you agree with me that the armed forces have never been controlled by any elected government. Interesting.

BTW, who are "we all"?

[beautifulthailand99]

Something for the kids to crawl all over on army day when they are being brainwashed in Thainess.  However if the army would hurry up and do another '32 then I will consider it money well spent.

[gk10002000]

7 hours ago, overherebc said:

Serious question only to do with numbers.

Can someone please post 1 billion and one trillion as is understood? ie 1 and the required number of zeros.

Or write it as 1 million million or 1000 million whatever, I really don't understand it.

1 million. 1,000,000

1 billion.  1,000,000,000

1 trillion. 1,000,000,000,000

 

So I think the article said 8.8 billion baht.  8,800,000,000  which at 34 baht/USD =~ 258,823,529 USD or 258 Million USD

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

1 million. 1,000,000

1 billion.  1,000,000,000

1 trillion. 1,000,000,000,000

 

So I think the article said 8.8 billion baht.  8,800,000,000  which at 34 baht/USD =~ 258,823,529 USD or 258 Million USD

it's peanuts compared to fraudulant rice scams or massive tax avoidance.

[cms22]

For info (here are some facts for those that don't know).

These new aircraft are not fighters they are 'lead-in trainer aircraft', which means they are used to train pilots for fighter aircraft, probably Thailand's F-16s and JAS 39 Gripens. Also, it can be argued that these trainer aircraft are very much needed due to the state of the existing trainer aircraft (from the Czech Republic) and the high costs of maintaining this dwindling fleet. It should also be noted that the newly announced purchase is rather modest. Thailand's existing fleet of Czech trainer aircraft comprised of nearly 40 units, and the Thais have replaced them with just 12 so far and probably another four in the pipeline. Doesn't sound exuberant to me. 

[steven100]

Thailand will benefit from this purchase.  Good job from Khun Prayuth Chan O Cha ....

There will still be the nayers but you can't pls some. ...

[inThailand]

What can you do with new subs, tanks, helicopters and now fighter jets when you don't have trained personnel to operate or maintain them? Use them as large paper weights?

[Reigntax]

9 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I think it is pretty much accepted now that 1 billion is one thousand million (1,000,000,000) and 1 trillion is one thousand billion (1,000,000,000,000).

 

In the UK 1 billion used to be one million million (1,000,000,000,000) and a trillion was 1 million million million (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) but the UK has fallen into line with the more popular international values.

I believe its now farly accepted that a billion is 1,000 x million and a trillion is a 1,000 x 1,000 x million or a million x million.

[pon2007]

11 hours ago, Thechook said:

Wow this military junta are now licking the trough for what's left.  They really are spending the countries every dollar on themselves and who cares about the people of Thailand.

No working street lights and potholes big as wheelbarrow in my Bangkok road/soi, but these people splurging millions/billions of taxpayers money for their own benefit and ego!

[12DrinkMore]

10 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

the UK has fallen into line with the more popular international values

This is under discussion as part of the Brexit process.

 

I believe there are also discussions whether the Pound/Shilling/Pence should be reinstated.