BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand plans to acquire four Gripen JAS 39 fighter jets built by Sweden’s SAAB in the first procurement phase of its plan to replace its ageing fleet of mainly U.S. aircraft, its air force said on Wednesday.
Thailand has one of Southeast Asia’s best-equipped air forces, with 11 JAS 39 Gripen jets and dozens of American F-16 and F-5 aircraft, some of which have been in operation since the late 1980s.
Last year, the air force announced plans to acquire more Swedish jets as part of its long-term plan to buy 12 new fighter aircraft.
The budget for the first phase is 19.5 billion baht ($595.97 million) and a contract for the four additional Gripen jets would be signed in August, the air force said in a statement.
Thailand, which has a long history of military cooperation with the United States and was designated a Major Non-NATO Ally by Washington in 2023, had initially sought as many as eight Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jets, among the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft.
But the United States in 2023 declined to sell them over what Bangkok said were issues with training, and technical requirements including maintenance compatibility. The F-35 is considered a sensitive export sold only to the United States’ closest allies, which in the Indo-Pacific includes Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng, Panarat Thepgumpanat, and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Martin Petty)
