Thai Aerospace (TAI) has provided further details about Bangkok’s pending order for 12 Saab Gripen E/F fighters, including offsets associated with the deal.
In addition to the fighters, the package includes an unspecified number of MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, according to TAI.
Saab will also upgrade the Royal Thai Air Force’s (RTAF’s) pair of Saab 340B Erieye airborne early warning aircraft to an improved standard. This will improve the RTAF’s command and control capabilities.
According to Cirium, an aviational analytics company, both aircraft were delivered in the 1990s to the Swedish air force, and were transferred to Thailand in the early 2010s as part of an earlier order for 12 Gripen C/Ds.
TAI also lists a total of 14 offsets, of which seven are direct offsets closely related to the Gripen deal, while seven are indirect offsets that will provide more general benefits to Thailand.
Direct offsets will include Saab’s establishment of a research and development centre in Thailand. Bangkok will also gain the intellectual property rights of the Link-T datalink that connects the Gripens. Moreover, there will be development work to improve Link-T.
Other direct offsets include upgrading Thailand’s ability to perform aircraft upgrade work, giving it a greater role in the Gripen E/F supply chain, and improving Thailand’s maintenance capabilities.
Indirect investments include unspecified foreign direct investment, the establishment of an innovation centre in Thailand, the promotion of agricultural development, and efforts related to education.
“TAI is ready to support the development of the defence industry in collaboration with the Royal Thai Air Force in all dimensions through the defence offset proposal, which will result in the transfer of important technologies, including the development of personnel and domestic industries to create sustainable economic security and defence industries of Thailand,” says the company.
Saab confirmed that Thailand had selected the Gripen E/F on 4 June. In August 2024, the RTAF announced that it preferred the Gripen over the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72, its rival for the contract.
