Thai Royal Navy

A good platform for monitoring submarines,the HTMS Chakri Naruebet is largely under-employed and was not used during theEast Timor crisis of 1999 of the UN, nor in the 2004t sunami.

Furthermore, the Harrier AV-8Sis virtually inoperable for lack of spare parts (engines, etc.) and it is notintended the Navy will acquisition a Sea Harrier. Though originally ambitious, in realitythe HTMS Chakri Naruebet remains a misused tool of prestige.

The reasons include: little activity on thehigh seas, poor crew training, repairs not carried out, reliance on its escort,unable to fight against smuggling.

Conventional submarines

Since the Second World War, the Royal Navy nolonger possesses submarines.  In the late1990s, the Navy was ready for an agreement to purchase Type 209 or class TKMSGotland with Kochums.  Sources said itwould consider, in the 2000s, acquiring second-hand Israeli Gall Class 2 orClass Love New Russians.

Thai Royal Navy

Since the Second World War, Thailand hasalways sought to ensure itssecurity by trying to appease its most powerfulrivals, currently the United States Navy and the Chinese Navy, who wage astruggle for influence in its territorial waters.

In regard to its immediate neighbors, theRoyal Navy succeeded in stemming early the Royal Cambodian Navy, on the east,and the submarine ambitions of the Vietnamese People’s Navy on the west.

This allowed Thailand to control, more orless, the Strait of Malacca, which is essential for its maritime trade andsecurity.  The traffic in this importantarea is tight, and in fact the area is a prime zone for piracy and a potentialtarget of terrorism.

Thus the Royal Navyhas recently received sizeable budgets to acquire buildings and systems ofappropriate weapons.  This will enablethe Navy to also defend themselves against a military escalation in the landdispute in South China Sea.

The purchase of HTMS Chakri Naruebet wasfurther justified at the time by the need to monitor the EEZ Thai (its eightyoil platforms and its fishing fleet, the third in the world) and to control thelight sea challenges to the borders of Thailand by Cambodia, Vietnam andMalaysia.

The acquisition of thisaircraft carrier as a Landing Platform Dock reflects the will of the Royal Navyto venture offshore, particularly to the Andaman Sea.It is public knowledge that the competition between the Marine Corps andthe Royal Thai Air and Coastal Defense Command (TDCA) gives a priority to theacquisition of submarines, patrol boats and amphibious vessels.

Meanwhile, the Thai fleet ages, and the newerbuildings are two Chinese frigates Type 053 and two Knox class American ships.  These acquisitions are symbolic of the geopoliticalpositioning on the part of Bangkok

Aircraft carrier

In July 1992, the Royal Thai Navy ordered a copyof the lighter level Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias.  It was commissioned to Sattahip in the Gulf of Thailand on August 10, 1997 under thename of HTMS Chakri Naruebet.

The order by the Royal Navy is the first time MarineSouth East will havesuch a building, of 11,486 tons squared, called Offshore Patrol HelicopterCarrier (OHPC).  To this end, Spaintransferred seven first generation (without radar) Harrier AV-8S Matadors andtwo TAV-8S Harrier two-seat trainers, while acquiring six SH-60B Sea Hawk ASMhelicopters.

Frigates


The frigate Phuttaloetla Naphalai and anotherPhraya class frigate cruised in formation in the Gulf of Thailand along withU.S. Navy vessels during the CARAT 2008 exercise.Class Phutthayotfa Chulaok:
Phutthayotfa Chulalok (FFG 461, ex-USS Truett)
Phutthaloetla Naphalai (FFG 462, ex-USS Ouellet)  Kraburi5 Class:
Kraburi (FF 457)
Saiburi (FF 458) 

Phraya Class:
Chao Praya (FF 455)
Bangpakong (FF 456) 

Makuta Rajakumarn Class:
Makuta Rajakumarn (FF 433) 

Tapi Class:
Pads (FF 431)
Khirirat (FF 432) 

Naruesan 6 Class:
Naresuan (FFG 421)
Taksin (FFG 422) 

Pin Klao Class:
Pin Klao (FF 413, ex-USS Hemminger)

Corvettes


Ratanakosin Class:
Rattanakosin (FS 441)
Sukhothai (FS 442) 

Khamronsin Class:
Kamronsin (FS 531)
Tayanchon (FS 532)
Long Lom (FS 532) 

Aircraft

Thai Naval Aviation (Kongbin Tha Han Lur) operatedfrom June 1, 1938 until June 1951 with different types of aircraft andseaplanes of Japanese, British and American origins.  It did not have aircraft carriers.  It was disbanded after the failed coupagainst Phibun. Today, it is organized around the Sea Harrier and SH-60B SeaHawk, operating from the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet.