The Royal Thai Navy Considers Procurement of MALE UAV in 2022

15 Maret 2021

CH-4A Rainbow MALE UAV (photo : CASC)

There has been news for a while since Defense and Security 2019, and confirms from the latest news in a 2022 budget request that the Navy is interested in supplying medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs that are flying at medium heights and have a long flight time. 

At the time, it was listed as China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's CH-4A, or CASC from China, with the procurement expected to be around the same time as the Type-071E landing ship from China as well.

However, the contract has not yet occurred. And from Covid-19 the obligations of the Navy in other areas such as the procurement of FK-3 antiaircraft missiles from China worth Bt1.9bn, the S26T submarine from China, worth Bt13bn, as well as the Type-071E landing ship from China, worth 6.1 billion, has given the Navy a budgetary tight and still cannot supply large UAVs.

The Navy has postponed the supply of S26Ts in the second and third ships worth 26 billion baht.

We still have to see if the project will pass the cabinet or the council for the project in 2022.

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