The delivery of six more Saab aircraft from Sweden
has been delayed, a Royal Thai Air Force source said yesterday.
The delivery of the Saab 340 AEW airborne early warning
aircraft was set for last Tuesday at Don Muang military air base with the
ceremony to welcome them scheduled for last Wednesday at Wing 7 in Surat Thani.
But this has now been put off because an American parts
supplier has refused to sell some key products to the Swedish manufacturer for
reasons that are unclear, said the source.
The Saab 340 AEW is used to control the Gripen fighter
fleet.
"Certain key items of the jet parts and the radar system
produced by the US
firm have not been granted permission to be sold to other countries," said
the source. "And that has resulted in a delay in [the Swedish company's]
assembling of the aircraft which I really have no idea when will be completed.
"I'm not sure if this is a game or not because the
Royal Thai Air Force chose the Gripen from Sweden
over the F series aircraft from the United States. The latter might not
be happy with that," said the source.
Air force commander Itthaporn Subha-wong travelled to Sweden late
last month to discuss the delivery with Saab but to no avail, said the source.
Previously, the air force bought a total of 12 Gripen
fighter jets from Sweden
along with two Saab 340 AEW aircraft and one Saab 340 transport aircraft for a
total of 34 billion baht.
The first batch of aircraft of six Gripen fighter jets, one
Saab 340 AEW and one Saab 340 has been delivered and commissioned at Wing 7.
The second batch of another six Gripen jets and one more
Saab 340 AEW aircraft are awaiting delivery.
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