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| SAAB Gripen (File Photo) |
Two Gripen and personnel from the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) are this week visiting the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in Malaysia. They have been invited by the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
The Royal Thai Air Force’s participation at LIMA marks the first time that their Gripen aircraft have been displayed outside Thailand.
The RTAF took delivery of their first batch of six Gripen fighters in February 2011, which are based at Wing 7 in Surat Thani. Pilots and ground crew have been trained in Sweden and the RTAF declared the Gripen system operational in July of this year.
Another batch of six Gripen is on order, which will be delivered during 2013. The RTAF also operates the Saab 340 Erieye Airborne Early Warning system and a Saab command and control system, which is the link between the Erieye system and the Gripen fighters