Gripen E fighter aircraft | Photo: Saab/Linus Svensson
Swedish aerospace company Saab announced on Wednesday the selection of its Gripen E/F fighters by the Royal Thai Air Force for its requirement of a ‘new future multi-role fighter.’
President and CEO of Saab, Micael Johansson, said in a company statement, “We welcome the Royal Thai Air Force’s selection of Gripen E/F as its future fighter and look forward to the next steps in this procurement process. Gripen E/F is the best solution to provide Thailand with independent airpower for the future which will contribute significantly to the nation’s safety and security.”
The Royal Thai Air Force already operates the older Gripen C/D model fighter aircraft. The selection announced on Wednesday is the result of new fighter requirements for which Thailand was also considering the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 fighter, offered by the U.S.
The Gripen F, which has also been ordered by Brazil, is the two-seat version of the advanced Gripen E aircraft.
Saab said that while the Royal Thai Air Force has confirmed the selected, ‘At this point Saab has not signed a contract nor received an order relating to this announcement,’ adding, ‘Saab and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) will now follow the next steps in the procurement process with the Kingdom of Thailand.’
The company said its offer includes a ‘long-term offset package’ in addition to the aircraft and associated equipment.
Separately, South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) signed a $700 million contract for the sale of 12 FA-50 light attack fighters to the Philippines, which is the second order for a dozen such aircraft by Manila since 2014.
The Saab Gripen E and the Lockheed Martin F-16 have, both, been on offer to the Philippines.
Discover more from StratPost
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
