Thailand to purchase F-35 Stealth Fighters
The Royal Thai Air Force plans to procure eight F-35 stealth fighters to replace its aging fleet of combat aircraft.
According to service commander-in-chief Napadej Dhupatemiya, acquiring F-35 jets is necessary to update Thailand’s current F-5 and F-16 aircraft, which have been in use for more than 30 years.
“We don’t require a full fleet of F-35 jets,” Dhupatemiya told the Bangkok Post. “We may use just eight to 12 and use drones to fly alongside the manned aircraft. This will help save costs. This is relatively new, but these technologies are likely to develop fast.”
With a reported price of $81 million each — a 42-percent discount on the original price of $142 million — the service feels it is the right time to purchase the F-35s. In a report by Thai-based news outlet Thaiger, the commander-in-chief stated that purchasing the jets in bulk may allow Thailand to acquire them at $70 million each.
