We Are Growing in Capability: Air Chief Marshal Punpakdee Pattanakul, Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Air Force

What are your present objectives and modernization plans for the RTAF?

The RTAF is a dynamic organization. We have the RTAF strategy and capability development plan in various aspects for use as an operational guideline and in the RTAF development. As a consequence of the current security environment, the RTAF has come up with its vision to become powerful and efficient. The concept of force preparation is made to accurately correspond to the present and future threat evaluation, traditional and non-traditional threats, military operations other than war, prevention and solution for disasters, public assistance, and national development in accordance with government policies. The RTAF will strive for its readiness in protecting national sovereignty and security, competitiveness in providing cooperation with neighboring countries, and capability in joint-operations with allied nations including both combat and non-combat missions, especially, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief that require prompt and effective response.

What are some of the most important recent achievements in improving the capability of the RTAF?

So far, we have done many things, namely, aircraft capability upgrade, quality personnel development, enhancement of air operations based on the network centric operations, tactical data links development, utilization of aircraft in various missions, for example, UAV in public assistance, DA-42 and BT-67 in wildfire extinguishment and suppression of air pollution caused by smoke, helicopters in transporting patients, Airbus A340 in overseas evacuation, and dispatch of RTAF personnel in providing assistance and relief of disasters. However, it is too soon to claim that we have achieved the most important accomplishments due to the fact that security environment is highly dynamic. We, in turn, have to keep on our improvement.

What is the present status of the RTAF’s fleet of fighter aircraft and what are some of the upgrades and new acquisitions being planned?

There are three main Wings: Wing 4, Wing 7, and Wing 1. At Wing 4 in Takhli, Nakhon Sawan, the F-16 fighters which are capable of taking off within five minutes have their operations zone cover the entire western and northern regions.

Wing 7 in Surat Thani, where the Gripen fighters are stationed is responsible for operations in the southern region and protection of national interests in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Wing 1 in Nakhon Ratchasima serves to protect the eastern and the northeastern regions of the country using F-16 fighters of which at Wing 1, the Air Force plans to retire F-16 fighters after a long service, while the replacement plan was previously aimed at the F-35 aircraft. With the rejection by the US, the RTAF has to consider other options.

At present, it is likely that we will procure the F-16 or the Gripen which are currently in service and spare parts and maintenance equipment are available in the inventory. The selection process will be conducted under the consideration of a specific working group to guarantee cost effectiveness and highest suitability.

What has been the RTAF experience with the Saab Gripen as it is the only user of this fighter aircraft in the region?

The Gripen fighters are the advanced 4.5 generation combat aircraft and have been stationed for twelve years. Until today, the Gripen have been successfully operational in all dimensions including the readiness, protection of the southern airspace and maritime national interests, and provision of supports in accordance with the Government policies, for example, reconnaissance and aerial photography the areas to monitor illegal maritime activities in the Andaman Sea, etc.

What steps are the RTAF taking to grow its fleet of UAVs?

The RTAF has procured, developed, and built UAV in response to missions and necessity. Currently, UAV have played a greater role and gained capacity in a diversity of missions. Procurement of additional UAV in the future must be based on operational necessity. The procured aircraft must be capable of both operations and public assistance. In the future, the RTAF UAV might be categorized into three groups:
1) UAV for training and research and development.
2) UAV for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Military Operations Other Than Wars (MOOTWA).
3) UAV capable of being equipped with weapons. Important issues that need to be done along with the aircraft procurement are internal and external pilot training and readiness for operational supports. The RTAF has established Watthana Nakhon airfield which subsequently became Wing 3 which, in turn, is currently designated the operational base for the RTAF UAV.

The RTAF is acquiring new Beechcraft T-6 Texan trainers from the USA. How is this progressing?

The RTAF newly commissioned twelve T-6 aircraft in August this year as the Type 22 trainer aircraft to be stationed at the RTAF Flying Training School. The T-6 is an advanced trainer aircraft and the package comes with simulators, logistic system, standard maintenance system, and technology in analysis and evaluation. All of these components lead to cost effectiveness in operations and saving of RTAF budget in pilot training.

Please provide an insight into the RTAF’s fleet of helicopters and transport aircraft and upgrades and new acquisitions being planned?

C-130 aircraft have been operated in the RTAF for a very long time. Despite the fact that the avionics have been regularly upgraded, the aircraft themselves have significantly aged. It is, therefore, necessary to plan the procurement for the middle-sized cargo aircraft in consideration of optimal economy and cost effectiveness for the budget.
The RTAF will consider both new C-130 and other less expensive aircrafts and then compare details of those aircrafts. As for the long-range cargo aircraft, there is only one Airbus A340 pre-owned by the Thai Airways. Therefore, it is necessary for the RTAF to procure a new aircraft to replace the older one to keep currency for overseas evacuation in case of impact from disputed areas as previously happened. Meanwhile, the RTAF will maintain the current number of helicopter squadrons including those used in support of VVIP missions, training mission, medical evacuation training, and search and rescue missions.

The RTAF is now involved in more and more aerial exercises with friendly nations. What are the benefits to the RTAF from this?

The RTAF conducts joint exercises with friendly and neighboring countries to enrich good relationship and mutual trust. Such activities also provide opportunities to learn the means to conduct cooperative operations that requires preparation for the future operations. Additionally, those joint exercises allow participants to share experiences that provide the alternative perspectives in learning new technologies and tactics along with various means for mission accomplishments. These outcomes can be selectively adopted into the RTAF operations not only for air combat, but also for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

What are some of the challenges being faced by the RTAF and what steps are being taken to address the situation?

Our air defense system operates on a 24/7 basis by way of surveillance radars and air defense personnel. In case an entry of an unknown aircraft is detected, the international standard identification and interception procedures are respectively applied. Also, the RTAF has fostered good relationship with neighboring countries through the exchange of visits that allow the understanding and discussions among associated officers. Flying within Thailand’s territory is one of the priorities for the RTAF. There have been discussions to affirm that flight operations by each country will comply with international rules and regulations.

What are some of the homegrown developments in aerospace and defense that the RTAF is supporting in Thailand?

The RTAF cooperates and supports operations of the Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) in many matters to become the international standard aircraft maintenance center. In September this year, the TAI reached its 20th anniversary of service in aircraft maintenance at the standard level as well as its economic growth. The company has created domestic job opportunities and cut down the cost in sending aircraft for overseas maintenance.
In the future procurement, the RTAF will highlight the offset programs that the selling country are subject to employ defense industries companies from Thailand to be part of the procurement programs or provide technology transfer to us. In addition, they might jointly invest in the defense or other industries in Thailand as deemed appropriate by the Thai Government and the RTAF. This will allow Thailand to earn overall benefits.
The RTAF recognizes the importance of space technology. Including gathering knowledge for the dimension of stability in space, which is directly related to national security both militaries, economic, social and psychological. The RTAF has sent NAPA-1 and NAPA-2 satellites into space with detection equipment that can be applied to alleviate disasters very well. It is part of the operations of the RTAF To help the people. This allows people affected by disasters to receive timely and effective assistance.