DAVE FULLBROOK / BANGKOK
Thailand plans to issue a tender for a mid-life structural upgrade of its Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters, including 16 recently acquired secondhand from the US Air Force. The Thai air force is, meanwhile, eyeing new precision guided munitions (PGM)for the aircraft under a deal reportedly being discussed with BAE Systems.
"The structural upgrade programme is a must,"says Air Vice Marshal Pitthaporn Glinfuang, the Thai air force's director of operations and chief test pilot. "The budget has been appropriated. This should be open to any companies that have the capabilities as it is a common procedure for the F-16." A number of companies, including Israel Aircraft Industries and Singapore Technologies Aerospace, offer F-16 structural programmes.
The upgrade will encompass 32 F-16A/B Block 15OCU aircraft in service, plus a batch of 16 similar aircraft Thailand is receiving from surplus US stocks.
Pitthaporn says a contractor will be selected within the year, with work due to start in Thailand in 2004. The programme is worth about 6 billion baht ($140 million) and includes the Falcon Up and Falcon Star structural strengthening packages for Thailand's first two F-16 squadrons, and Falcon Star only for the recently activated third squadron of ex-USAF fighters.
This will restore the F-16 airframes to their original 8,000h design life.
A similar mid-life update of the F-16's Pratt & Whitney F100-220 engines is planned, and Pitthaporn wants the work done locally. No avionics upgrade is foreseen, but the air force hopes to acquire new PGMs off the back of a deal being discussed by the Thai and UK governments. Thailand recently ordered two Westland Super Lynxes.
PGMs are likely to feature strongly in these talks because the air force is keen to improve its capability for precision strikes, says Pitthaporn.
For the next five years, Thailand will focus on upgrading its existing fighters rather than placing new orders because of its limited budget. The air force also wants to avoid introducing any new aircraft types to keep costs down.
The only possible exception to the budget cap is a requirement for 10-20 new helicopters of mixed types to handle overland and long-range maritime rescue missions.
Source: Flight International
