As the only country in Southeast Asia that was never colonized, the Thai military, in this case the Navy, is arguably much more established than other ASEAN countries. Until the decade of the 90s, Thailand was even the only country that had an aircraft carrier.
Not only that, the Land of the White Elephant (RTNAD) is also still operating an old fighter jet with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability, the AV-8S, downgraded from its desired AV-8B Harrier II.
A few years before World War II broke out or after the Siamese Revolution which ended the era of absolute monarchy, Thailand began to organize its naval aviation capabilities through the Royal Thai Naval Air Division. After the end of World War II, Thailand tended to be attached to Britain and Japan, which incidentally were oriented to the allies.
In 1963, the RTNAD fleet line was strengthened by the presence of the HU-16 Albatross seaplane. This is further reinforced by the presence of P-3 Orion long-range maritime patrol aircraft and A-7 Corsair II attack jets flown from the ground base, as well as modern Sikorsky S-70 Seahawk and S-76 helicopters.
Not satisfied, in the 90s, Thailand began planning to build its own aircraft carrier and operate the AV-8B Harrier II fixed wing aircraft. At that time, no ASEAN country had an aircraft carrier and operated a fixed wing aircraft.
In 1991, Thailand agreed to build an aircraft carrier with the German shipbuilding company, Bremer Vulkan. However, this deal was canceled because German law prohibits the sale of aircraft carriers for offensive purposes. Even so, the order was transferred to the German shipyard from Spain, Bazan. From there, the new carrier (instead of buying used) HTMS Chakri Naruebet Thailand was born, which was tested between November 1996 and January 1997.
Chakri Naruebet which in Indonesian is "For the Honor of the Chakri Dynasty," has experienced a decline in function due to the limited defense budget. HTMS Chakri Naruebet is essentially an aircraft carrier capable of launching fighter aircraft (aircraft carrier), namely the V/STOL fighter type, aircraft that can take off vertically or use very short runways, and helicopters.
So the carrier is equipped with a ski-jump, a runway whose ends are curved upwards. The original intention was to operate a combined group of Sea Harrier “Matador” V/STOL fighters and S-70 Seahawk helicopters (for anti-submarine warfare).
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| HTMS Chakri Naruebet |
With a flight deck measuring 174.6 x 27.5 meters, HTMS Chakri Naruebet can carry 6 AV-8S Matador V/STOL aircraft plus 4 to 6 S-70B Seahawk helicopters. If required, the Chakri Naruebet is also capable of carrying up to 14 additional helicopters, consisting of a mix of Sikorsky Sea King, Sikorsky S-76, and CH-47 Chinook. While the hangar space is only enough to accommodate 10 aircraft.
Although the carrier is new, but not with fighter jets, Thailand buys secondhand from Spain, there are 7 standard versions of the Matador plus 2 AV-8S trainers, and it was updated by the company Construcciones Aeronauticas SA before delivery.
Ironically, in 1999 only one aircraft remained operational. Thailand was forced to look for several other first-generation Harriers to cannibalize, in order to obtain spare parts.
Currently, AV-8S is no longer visible in the sky, but its loyal partner HTMS Chakri Naruebet can still be seen and enjoyed by anyone, even if not on the battlefield.
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