The Royal Thai Navy has purchased nine Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile systems from US defence manufacturer Raytheon, the company announced Tuesday.
A Sea Sparrow missile is fired from a launcher on a US aircraft carrier. (US Navy photo)
A statement from Raytheon headquarters in Crystal City, Virginia, just outside Washington, said Thai officials recently signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the US government for the system.
The price of the purchase was not made public.
The Thai government has made no announcement on the deal since it first was announced last August by the US Defence Department that the Navy was seeking permission to buy the weapons.
The Sea Sparrow missile is described by the US Navy as "a ship-borne, short-range, anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon system, primarily for defence against anti-ship missiles". It was developed in the early 1960s but has undergone constant development and upgrade.
The Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) was described by Raytheon on Tuesday as based on the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, but with increased rocket engine power and enhanced aerodynamics.
Missiles are 12 feet long, 10 inches (3.9 metres) wide, carrying an 86-pound (39kg) blast-fragmentation warhead. Operational range is reportedly about 27 nautical miles.
Thailand, the 13th nation to buy the missiles, intends to deploy the ESSM systems aboard two frigates, according to the Raytheon announcement.
ESSM systems are currently operating on the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, aircraft carriers and large deck amphibious ships. They also are installed on various ships of the navies of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Turkey.
According to an enthusiastic Raytheon press release, "The addition of the ESSM will provide the Royal Thai Navy an unmatched ship self-defence capability, as well as allowing the fleet to take advantage of future spiral evolutions of the missile."
It is the second missile system purchase by the Thai armed forces in thelast few months.
In November, Thales UK announced it had been awarded a multi-million dollar contract for delivery of its STARStreak very-short-range air defence missile (VSHORAD) system to the Royal Thai Army.
The contract for unspecified units makes Thailand the third customer for the missile, after UK and South African Armed Forces, according to Defense News daily.
The deal was announced during the official visit of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to London.
The same missile system was deployed during London's Olympics Games in August, where it served as a core element of the UK army's air defence capability.
Unlike the UK Army, which favours vehicle-mounted option, the Thai army is expected to launch the missile from a wide range of lightweight and portable launchers, the Defense News said.
Introduced in 1997, the STARStreak is a self-propelled high-velocity missile (SP HVM) system designed to provide close air defence against a multitude of conventional air threats, including high-speed fixed wing aircraft, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and attack helicopters.
Powered by a two-stage solid propellant rocket motor, the missile also features lightweight multiple launchers (LML), which enable swift deployment against battlefield threats.
The missile is capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 3.5, and is also fitted with three high-density darts and laser beam riding guidance for maximum accuracy and engagement of smallest signature targets that are difficult to hit with legacy missiles, the report said.