During the course of Monday, February 23, the Royal Thai Army announced that it is preparing to receive 17 new 8×8 Stryker wheeled armored combat vehicles (VCBR) from the United States, which is seeking to move forward with the operation under the framework of the program known as Excess Defense Articles (EDA). The news emerged in the context of the visit to the Asian country by Lieutenant General Matthew McFarlane, Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army I Corps, who met with senior Thai military authorities to discuss both the transfer of the armored vehicles and the strengthening of defense ties between the two nations.
Providing further details, the official statement from the Royal Thai Army indicated that the occasion served as an opportunity to propose the potential formation of new units equipped with the vehicle in question, as well as to pave the way ahead of the bilateral Hanuman Guardian exercise and the annual Cobra Gold exercise. Precisely, the delivery of the new 8×8 Stryker VCBRs would take place during the closing ceremony of the first of the aforementioned activities, after which Thai personnel are expected to begin familiarizing themselves firsthand with the vehicles.
Referring to the closer ties achieved through these exercises, the Royal Thai Army stated: “The Cobra Gold exercise has demonstrated the strong relationship and firm cooperation between the two armed forces, as well as their determination to develop joint force capabilities to address security threats and challenges, particularly cyber threats and terrorism. The Hanuman Guardian exercise has also been mentioned, having achieved satisfactory results and contributed to developing joint force capabilities, particularly through training in the use of unmanned aerial combat systems.”
Finally, it is useful to recall that the news regarding the arrival of these new Strykers comes just over a month after the Royal Thai Army confirmed the purchase of an additional batch of new 8×8 VN-1 VCBRs, which are of Chinese design and manufacture; more specifically by the state-owned company China North Industries Corporation (Norinco). For this purpose, Bangkok will need to invest approximately 1 billion baht (around 29.1 million dollars), which had already been budgeted for fiscal year 2025. In this case, it is a platform with which the institution is already familiar, as it operates a fleet of 111 vehicles from the VN-1 family.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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