For more than a decade, Thailand has operated a networked national air defence system that covers all of Thailand’s territory. The most visible elements of this net-centric warfare (NCW) capability are the Gripen fighters and Erieye AEW&C aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), but this system is more than an air force asset.
Thailand’s independent, national datalink system integrates RTAF airborne platforms with its wider national air surveillance radar network and multiple vessels of the Royal Thai Navy. This secure, high-speed, command-and-control (C2) system therefore links multiple elements of the Royal Thai Armed Forces at an operational level while also providing real-time data to the strategic commanders and national decision-makers. The next step in Thailand’s NCW modernisation plan will deliver upgrades to the Erieye systems.
This system was delivered through a combined ‘Team Sweden’ contract with the Swedish government and industry; Sweden’s Defence Material Administration (FMV) is the contract owner while the required equipment is supplied by Saab, supported by Thai industry partners. The capabilities of the system have been progressively improved and Thailand is now looking at new phases of further enhancements.
The RTAF is looking to upgrade its Saab 340 Erieye AEW&C aircraft as the next step in Thailand’s NCW modernisation plan.
Over time, Thailand has carefully modernised and improved all aspects of the system. For example, the backbone of the C2 system – known as ACCS (Air Command and Control System) and based on Saab’s 9AIRC4I product, was upgraded under a 2018 contract with Saab. A long-term Transfer of Technology programme has delivered local capacity to maintain and develop the national datalink. The latest MS20 upgrade for the Gripen fleet brings further enhancements to the overall NCW environment and this will continue through regular future software upgrades for the fighters.
Beyond this current activity, Thailand is looking at the potential to expand its NCW capability into a fully joint, tri-service network that would integrate Royal Thai Army assets for the first time. This logical growth path is made possible by the basic system architecture acquired by Thailand from Sweden that permits local adaptions that can be applied to all Thai assets in accordance to national, independent, security policy. In this respect alone, Thailand’s NCW system remains a powerful sovereign capability that is unmatched in the region.
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