Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) is looking at gaining further contracts from the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) in the future to meet the latter’s modernisation requirements. The aerospace firm is undertaking several upgrade and modernisation efforts for the RTAF. The RTAF is continuing with upgrades to its Lockheed Martin C-130H transport aircraft fleet, with the upgrade of four more aircraft contracted. The initial upgrade effort under Phase 1 of the programme, resulted in eight transport aircraft being upgraded and the remaining four aircraft will be modernised under Phase 2 of the programme. The RTAF has been operating its C-130H transport aircraft for over 40 years.
Phase 1 of the upgrade which ran from October 2020 to September 2022, included a cockpit upgrade which involved the installation of four multi-function displays (MFD) on all eight aircraft. Modern avionics such as traffic alert and collision avoidance system version 7.1 (TCAS7.1) and automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) were also installed on all aircraft. The centre wing portion of the aircraft were also replaced. The upgraded aircraft are slated to remain in service for another 10 years.
Earlier in October, TAI completed a project to improve the capability of the RTAF’s Fairchild AU-23A gunships which have been in service for more than 50 years. Eight AU-23As had been upgraded earlier and the upgrade of the remaining four aircraft was completed this year. The upgrade effort involved strengthening of the airframe and installation of new cockpit instruments. The upgraded aircraft are slated to remain in service till 2038, with checks being undertaken five years to decide their time in service.
TAI had earlier completed the enhanced midlife upgrade (eMLU) of a batch of RTAF F-16s in 2018. The seven year effort involved upgrading 18 RTAF F-16A/B fighters, to the same level of capability as that of F-16 Block 50/52s. Upgrade work on the first two aircraft was completed in 2014.
TAI is also responsible for inspecting green Helicopters from the Airbus Helicopters factory, transporting them, decorating the interior, and assembling the helicopters along with delivery to customers Including contracting and warranty management for Airbus family of helicopters used in military and government missions in Thailand: H125/H125M, H130, H135, H145/H145M, H160, H175, H215/H215M and H225/H225M. Airbus provides engineering support, knowledge transfer and training. In February 2022, Safran Helicopter Engines inked a contract with TAI to support Arrius 2B2Plus engines powering RTAF H135 and H225M helicopters. Over 12 Arrius and 24 Makila engines are now covered by Safran’s Global Support Package (GSP). Safran Helicopter Engines and TAI have partnered since 2017 to satisfy the RTAF’s requirements for optimum availability during their operations.
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