The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) officially announced on 27 August 2024 its decision to acquire Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/Fs instead of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70s to replace its ageing F-16A/B fighters, officially confirming a decision that was unofficially revealed in July 2024.
A contract has yet to be signed, however, and there are currently no firm indications as to how many Gripen E/Fs will be procured.
When ESD approached Saab with questions on 27 August, the Swedish fighter manufacturer replied, “Saab confirms that the Royal Thai Air Force has announced their wish to purchase Saab´s Gripen fighter. This is clearly very positive for Saab and for Sweden, but as this point there is no contract or any order in place. Saab is looking forward to continuing our discussions with the Royal Thai Air Force and the authorities regarding future fighter capabilities for Thailand.”
The RTAF is already an operator of the Gripen C/D, having received eight Gripen Cs and four Gripen Ds from February 2011 (although one Gripen C crashed during an air show on 14 January 2017). In 2022 the RTAF initiated and completed a programme to bring its Gripen C/Ds up to the type MS20 configuration, which included hardware and software upgrades to expand the Gripens’ inventory of air-to-ground weapons and introduce new air-to-air radar modes.
The RTAF received its F-16A/Bs from 1998 and is believed to have around 36 F-16As and 14 F-16Bs still in service from a total of 59 aircraft delivered.
Around 23 F-5E/TH Tiger II fighters and three F-5THF conversion trainers are also believed to be still in operation.
The RTAF received government approval to proceed with a plan to acquire new-generation fighters to replace its F-16s in January 2022. At the time it was thought this was likely to be eight to 12 aircraft over two batches, with the process of procuring the aircraft initially expected to have started in 2023.
