UDT Partners with ASFAT to Propose Milgem Frigate to Thailand

06 Maret 2025

Istanbul-class frigate (I-class), under Turkish MILGEM warship program (photo: Jane's)

Turkey's ASFAT, a state-owned enterprise under the Turkish Ministry of Defence acting as a contractor for the defense shipbuilding industry, partnered with Thailand's United Defense Technology Company as a coordinator to present information on its frigates and corvettes to the Royal Thai Navy at the meeting room of the Department of Naval Operations, Royal Thai Navy Headquarters on 6 February 2025.

It is understood that the proposed ship types with features and capabilities to the Royal Thai Navy include the Istanbul-class frigate and the ADA-class corvette under Turkey's MILGEM national warship program.

In addition to being built for service in the Turkish Navy, it has also been exported to foreign countries, including the Pakistani Navy under the name Babur-class corvettes, 4 ships with technology transfer to be built in Pakistan, Ukraine under the name Hetman Ivan Mazepa-class corvettes, 2 ships, and the Royal Malaysian Navy under the LMS Batch 2 project, 3 ships.

The event is an indication that Turkey is the latest player interested in joining the Royal Thai Navy's bid for four new frigates, with the Royal Thai Navy looking to secure funding from the Thai government and parliament in fiscal year 2026 for the first two new frigates to be built in Thailand under a technology transfer and investment agreement to develop Thailand's shipbuilding industry.

ASFAT with Thai's United Defense Technology, provided information on features and capabilities of MILGEM frigate and corvette to Royal Thai Navy (RTN) at Naval Operations Department (NOD)'s meeting room, RTN Headquarters in Thailand on 6 February 2025 (photo: United Defense Technology)

International companies that have previously expressed interest include South Korea's Hanwha Ocean, which has long been eyeing a second HTMS-class frigate contract, Germany's tkMS, along with Thailand's Marsun, which has offered the MEKO A-100 frigate design, The UK's Babcock International, which offers the Arrowhead 140 frigate design, and the Netherlands' Damen, which offers the SIGMA frigate design, are both looking for partners in Thailand. The Royal Thai Navy is expected to complete the finalization of the specifications for the new frigates around June-July 2025.

The lecture on the Korean War to the 57th Class of the Naval War College (NWC), Naval Education Department (NED), by Vice Admiral Thadawut Thatpitakkul, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Thai Navy and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Frigate Procurement Project, continued to speak about the importance of the procurement of new frigates as a "game changer" in three aspects:

A game changer in terms of combat capability including supersonic weapons, development of naval and defense industry capability by transferring technology to build new frigates in Thailand, and sustainability in terms of maintenance and use of its own national Tactical Data Link (TDL) and Combat Management System (CMS).

Which will operate together with the Royal Thai Army and Royal Thai Air Force. The Royal Thai Navy is looking for ships that can fight 24 hours/7 days, but destroyers are very expensive, about 40,000,000,000 baht ($1,187,419,292) each. Frigates cost about 20,000,000,000 baht ($593,639,200) each, so it is very possible that the government will approve it. And to replace the old ships, there must be 3 ships in the Gulf of Thailand and 2 ships in the Andaman Sea, including HTMS Bhumibol Dulyadej.

(AAG)