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US declines Thai F-35 fighter request, offers F-15 and F-16

24th May 2023 - 14:30 GMT | by Norbert Neumann in St Louis

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The US has declined Thailand's informal request for F-35 fighter jets, citing infrastructure concerns.

The US has advised the Royal Thai Air Force that the service is not ready to operate the F-35 yet, according to local media reports.

The US DoD has informally declined Thailand's request to purchase F-35 fighter jets, as revealed by a source within the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) to local media.

Instead, the US has proposed F-16 Block 70 and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets as viable alternatives.

The decision from the Pentagon was communicated by Robert F Gordec, the US ambassador to Thailand, during a recent meeting with ACM Alongkorn Wannarot, the RTAF's Commander-in-Chief, at the service's headquarters in Don Mueang.

Ambassador Gordec cited the US Department of State's assessment, which indicated that the RTAF may not currently possess the necessary infrastructure facilities

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Norbert Neumann

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Norbert Neumann


Norbert is the Aviation, Military Training & Simulation reporter at Shephard Media. Before joining Shephard in …

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