THAILAND HAS dispatched an air force team to the USA to finalise its McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18C/D fighter purchase, following the submission of a formal letter of offer and acceptance (LoA) to the US Congress for approval.
Congressional clearance of the sale is expected by mid-February. Then the LoA will be forwarded to Thailand for signature. More talks are still needed about support, but sources close to the negotiations hope to have the deal concluded by March.
The offer includes the supply of four single-seat F-18Cs and four tandem-seat F-18Ds, with MDC AGM-84 Harpoon, Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, with forward-looking infra-red and laser designation pods.
The LoA before Congress, however, does not include any Hughes AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs). Thailand has been strongly pressing the US Government to release the active-guided missile, but has faced opposition from the State Department (Flight International, 20 December-2 January, P7).
According to a US source, "...the Thai side has been satisfied with an agreement that doesn't necessarily include the purchase of AMRAAM in the near time".
The compromise settlement offers Thailand guarantees that under certain conditions and threats, the AMRAAM will be immediately released. The Royal Thai Air Force, in the meantime, will be supplied with a small number of training rounds.
Source: Flight International