The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) will set up a selection committee this month to decide if it should buy Sweden's Gripen fighter jets or F-16 aircraft from the US.
Giving an update on the 19-billion-baht plan to acquire four new fighter jets, air force commander ACM Phanphakdee Phatthanakul said the details are almost complete, but the RTAF is still open to further proposals to ensure the best deal.
ACM Phanphakdee said he and the RTAF's working panel visited Sweden and the US last month to hold talks and workshops with the Swedish supplier SAAB and American manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
"We'll keep our options open until the formation of the committee to select the aircraft model," he said. "All official documents will be reviewed in the selection process. The meeting results may not be used. We must be thorough and prudent."
He assured that the procurement scheme will meet the government's offset policy and other requirements for national capability development stipulated by the air force. Under the offset policy, countries that supply new military hardware to Thailand must reciprocate by offering equal economic evaluations in bilateral trade.
ACM Phanphakdee said the air force's chief-of-staff and Office of the RTAF's Comptroller are prepared to defend the procurement scheme before the House committee vetting the spending plan for the 2025 fiscal year.
A source close to the matter said the RTAF is likely to pick Gripen E/F fighter jets because the Swedish supplier is said to have made a better proposal concerning the offset policy.
The Swedish manufacturer's offer is said to include grants for military training and maintenance and replacing the Erieye radar system installed in its Saab 340, a Swedish airborne early warning aircraft. The air force bought a fleet of 12 Gripen fighters based at Wing 7 in Surat Thani in 2013 but lost one four years later in a crash.
The jet procurement scheme is part of an air force white paper outlining its development goals. The white paper includes a plan to procure a new squadron of fighter jets in the next fiscal year, starting Oct 1, as well as introduce several all-domain development projects.