A Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) fighter has hit targets in neighbouring Cambodia, as tensions between the two Southeast Asian nations continue to ratchet up.
The 2nd Region Army – a sub-division of the Royal Thai Army – says in a Facebook post it readied six Lockheed Martin F-16s along the Thailand-Cambodia border on 24 July.
At around 10:58 local time, the army states that an F-16 had “successfully” hit two Cambodian military regiments.
The development came barely an hour after reports of Cambodian forces using BM-21 (Grad) rocket launchers to fire into civilian areas along the border.
By around 12:00 local time, the 2nd Region Army reported that the F-16 had “safely returned”, having “completed its mission”.
Phnom Penh later confirmed the strikes, though it claims that the F-16s had dropped two bombs near a road leading to a temple.
Several Cambodian news reports also stated that the Thai F-16 had been downed by Cambodian forces, a claim that the RTAF has dismissed as false. The Cambodian defence ministry did not comment on the claim.
The deployment of the RTAF’s F-16s marks the first time the Thai military has deployed air power in the ongoing clashes. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that the air force has 47 legacy F-16A/Bs in its inventory.
In June, Bangkok formalised plans to purchase 12 new-build Gripen E/F fighters from Swedish airframer Saab.
The ongoing crisis between Thailand and Cambodia stems from a longstanding border dispute between the two neighbours. The dispute was reignited in May this year after a Cambodian soldier was killed during a border clash, which soon escalated into a diplomatic crisis.
The 24 July clash, which began early in the morning, has left nine civilians dead, says the Thai army.
