October 19, 2007: Thailand has
decided to replace its aging F-5 fighters with a dozen Swedish JAS-39 Gripen
fighters (PHOTO). These will cost about $55 million each (with spares, support and
training.) The 14 ton JAS-39 is roughly comparable with the latest versions of
the F-16. It is also used by Sweden, South Africa, Hungary, and the Czech
Republic. The first six will be delivered before 2011, the second six will not
all arrive until 2017. The slow delivery is because Thailand does not have the
money to buy the aircraft all at once.
At the same time, two Swedish
Erieye AEW (Aerial Early Warning) aircraft are also being purchased, for $170
million each. The system is a Saab 2000
airliner mounting a Swedish Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar
(which consists of thousands of tiny radars that can be independently aimed in
different directions). This is similar to the AESA radar used on the American
JSTARS aircraft, enabling it to locate vehicles moving on the ground. The
Swedish AESA is cheaper, because its built like a long bar, mounted on top of
the aircraft. This means the radar can only see, in a 120 degree arc, off both
sides of the aircraft. A 60 degree arc in the front and back is uncovered. The
radar can spot large aircraft out to nearly 500 kilometers, and more common
fighter sized aircraft at about 300 kilometers. The Saab 2000 is a 22 ton, twin
prop aircraft, with a cruising speed of 660 kilometers an hour. The aircraft
can stay in the air about four hours per sortie. The radar can also spot ships
at sea, and thus can also fill in for maritime reconnaissance.
