Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft company, has announced its intentions to supply Gripen fighter jets to RTAF, Royal Thai Air Force. This intention was released by Saab on 26 March 2024. However RTAF has not yet made a final decision.
It has earlier been mentioned by RTAF that they were considering procuring the Gripen fighter jets, however they needed to make sure that an agreement could be reached were Saab’s proposal also aligned with the Thai government’s offset policy and other requirements set by the RTAF.
This for instance included that RTAF could procure new fighter jets for less than the 19 billion baht budget. RTAF procuring fighter jets is a part of RTAF’s white paper, a document detailing development objectives. The Scheme is scheduled for cabinet review in 2 April 2024.
The main decision for the Thai Royal Air Force is between Sweden’s Gripen E/F and the US’s F-16 Block 70.
Source: ASEAN NOW
