RTAF Received a Third Batch of "KGGB" Guided Missile Systems

22 Mei 2026

KGGB guided missile systems (photos: RTAF via Wild Chronicles)

RTAF Received a Third Batch of 10 High-precision "KGGB" Guided Missile Systems from South Korea. These systems were used in combat for the first time, mounted on 500-pound Mk 82 multi-purpose bombs, enabling them to strike long-range targets during clashes with Cambodian forces in July 2025.

South Korean media reported that during recent clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border, RTAF F-16 fighter jets used the KGGB, a GPS-guided bomb system developed by South Korea's LIG Nex1, to attack Cambodian military targets along the disputed border. The airstrikes destroyed several command posts, ammunition depots, and at least two BM-21 Grad rocket systems.

Royal Thai Air Force officials stated that the attack was part of a larger military operation in response to Cambodia's incursions into Thai territory. The fighting began on July 24, 2025, and spread to several districts in Surin and Trat provinces in the east.

Thai military sources confirmed that the use of guided bombs was aimed at intercepting Cambodian artillery units and preventing further attacks on Thai positions. The use of high-precision weapons was a carefully planned measure to increase accuracy and minimize civilian damage along the border.

In June 2022, the Government Procurement System website of the Comptroller General's Department published a document showing the allocated budget and details of expenses for non-construction procurement, dated June 13, 2022, for the project to purchase 10 sets of Guidance-Extended Range Kits for 500-pound multi-purpose bombs, along with supporting equipment. The project owner was the Air Force Ordnance Department, Royal Thai Air Force, which was first announced on May 5, 2022, with an allocated budget of 48 million baht ($1.3 million). Source of the median price. (Reference price) There is only one supplier, LIG ​​Nex1 Co., Ltd., Republic of Korea, which indicates that this project will be the purchase of Korean GPS Guided Bomb (KGGB) sets for the Royal Thai Air Force, followed by another 10 sets with supporting equipment, at a cost of 54 million baht ($1.4 million) on November 11, 2022.

Subsequently, in November 2023, the Royal Thai Air Force received the first set of GPS guided bombs and conducted its first training exercise using the KGGB. In this test, the KGGB bomb was loaded and launched from a Royal Thai Air Force F-16 fighter jet at an undisclosed training location in Thailand. The Royal Thai Air Force also fitted the KGGB set with 500-pound RWM Mk. 82 multi-purpose bombs, manufactured in Thailand by the Royal Thai Air Force Ordnance Department.

And on September 11, 2025, the Royal Thai Air Force Ordnance Department... The Directorate of Armament, Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), has released an update on its procurement plan for fiscal year 2025 for the project to acquire "Guided and Range Extended Missile Equipment, Code KGGB, 10 sets." The project owner is the Air Force Ordnance Department (M68090015239), dated September 11, 2025.

The procurement plan code is P68090021176, with a project budget of 46,414,500.00 baht (forty-six million four hundred fourteen thousand five hundred baht). The procurement announcement is expected within September 2025. This purchase is the "third lot," and just a few days ago, in May 2026, LIG ​​Nex1 of South Korea confirmed the delivery of the third lot of 10 KGGB sets to the RTAF.

Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Guidance System (INS) guided bombs are precision-guided munitions (PGMs) that can be used in all weather conditions and do not require a targeting system. The Royal Thai Air Force does not have JDAMs, but has a comparable weapon: the Korean GPS Guided Bomb (KGGB).

A key feature of the KGGB glide bomb is that it can be installed and used without modifying the aircraft structure or adding additional command sets. Mission data is pre-programmed into a Pilot Display Unit (PDU), which the pilot carries in the cockpit of the KGGB aircraft. It can be mounted on the weapon position of a fighter aircraft at a stronghold supporting the Mk. 82 bomb. The pilot flies the aircraft to a position at a distance from the designated target. The PDU wirelessly communicates data with the wing assembly, and the pilot manually releases the glide bomb to the target. This allows several types of Royal Thai Air Force aircraft, such as the T-50TH fighter and training jets, the F-16 AM/BM Block 15 eMLU fighter jets, and the F-5E/F TH fighter jets, to use the KGGB glide-guided bomb system with the Thai-made Mk. 82 bomb produced by the Royal Thai Air Force Ordnance Department without further modifications.

(TheWildChronicles)