Over the course of today, the Royal Thai Air Force has confirmed its definitive selection of the Swedish Saab Gripen E/F fighter as the replacement for its oldest U.S.-origin F-16 Block 15 jets, thereby allowing both the manufacturer and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to move forward with the corresponding process to finalize the sale. This development also brings an end to a long-running saga marked by twists and turns, during which Bangkok also flirted with the possibility of acquiring F-16s configured to the Block 70 standard—an option promoted by the U.S. with financing benefits to support the purchase.
On this matter, Micael Johansson, who currently serves as President and CEO of Saab, stated: “We welcome the Royal Thai Air Force’s selection of the Gripen E/F as its future fighter and look forward to the next steps in this procurement process. The Gripen E/F is the best solution to provide Thailand with independent air power in the future, which will significantly contribute to the country’s security.”
Expanding on key aspects of this recent news, the Swedish company Saab indicated that it is awaiting future negotiations on offset agreements with the Thai government, which will aim to involve the local industry in the aircraft manufacturing process in order to enhance the country’s strategic autonomy—an element that undoubtedly played a role in the fighter selection process. It is worth noting, however, that there are still no contracts or concrete orders that would clarify the specific terms of the agreement to be implemented.
Finally, it is important to consider that the Royal Thai Air Force is already an operator of Gripen family aircraft, having received the C/D variants back in 2011. This is no minor detail, as the new selection will allow the service to standardize its air combat capabilities, with all the maintenance benefits that entails. For its part, the service will also operate T-50TH aircraft manufactured by South Korean company KAI, which since 2024 has been working on establishing a new MRO Center in Thai territory—though these will mainly be used for pilot training missions.
*Images used for illustrative purposes only
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