Cabinet approves procurement of four Gripen fighter jets
Cabinet approves procurement of four Gripen fighter jets from Sweden to boost RTAF air defence capability, following claims of a previous attack on Cambodia.
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) announced that the Cabinet on Tuesday approved its request to purchase four more Gripen fighter jets from Sweden.
The RTAF confirmed on its Facebook page that the Cabinet had approved the RTAF’s plan to buy four Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F fighter jets to enhance the air defence capability of the RTAF.
“Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F ready to take off,” the post began.
“The Cabinet approved the RTAF’s request to purchase new Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets to replace decommissioned ones, strengthening our ability to protect sovereignty over Thai airspace.”
RTAF commander-in-chief ACM Punpakdee Pattanakul is scheduled to visit Sweden from August 23 to 27 to finalise the procurement deal with Saab.
Earlier, Cambodia claimed that the Swedish government had prohibited the sale of additional Gripen jets to Thailand after the RTAF deployed two Gripen jets from Wing 7 base in Surat Thani to attack Cambodian troops. This claim was dismissed as untrue by both the Swedish embassy in Bangkok and the Swedish government.
