Thais opted for JAS-39 Gripen
-
The camo suppose to look like
-
Non-Subscriber Extract
Royal Thai Air Force pushes for second Gripen batch
By Jon Grevatt
15 February 2008
The prime minister of Thailand, Samak Sundaravej, who is also defence minister, has been urged by the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) to approve the purchase of a second batch of Gripen JAS 39 multirole combat aircraft.
Finances for the first batch of six fighters were approved at the end of last year by the former Thai government, which also gave a go-ahead - in principle only - for the acquisition of the second batch of six to take place.
Air Marshal Kanit Suwannate told Jane's on 14 February that the RTAF hoped the new government would approve the funds for second purchase within 18 months.
106 of 249 words
© 2008 Jane's Information Group
End of non-subscriber extract -
Fighter aircraft selection is a lot more than the fighter itself.
Must consider the systems certified for the type of aircraft which must also match its avionics.
Advantage with US aircraft ( such as F16 and F15 ) is that a lot of the battle proven weapons systems are all already qualified on these aircraft. They are also wired up for these weapons. There is also a lot of planned upgrades and improvements to match not only the aircraft but also its avionics such as radar, data bus , nav & comms systems. Think AESA radars, JDAMS, SDB , AIM9X Block II, AIM120 C7 etc
Also, think of access to training facilities and excercises eg Red Flag.