TSAMTO, July 14. The command of the Thai Navy has signed a contract with a national company for the supply of mobile short-range anti-aircraft missile systems.
According to the information Asiapacificdefensejournal.com, the purchase price is 245.89 million Thai baht (about $ 7.68 million). The contract under the tender announced in January 2021 was concluded with the national company Datagate Co Limited.
According to a report published in June 2021 on the procurement portal of the Thai Navy, the agreement provides for the supply of five portable air defense systems installed on the chassis of vehicles with a 4x4 wheel formula.
Datagate won the competition, ahead of China Vanguard Industry Corporation (CVIC), which also took part in the tender, which offered the QW-18 MANPADS, previously adopted by the Thai Marine Corps.
The contract notice does not contain information about the systems that will be delivered, and Datagate has not yet commented on its offer. According to the assumptions of Thai sources, the company could offer a solution based on Russian MANPADS "Igla-S" or "Willow".
It should also be noted that in 2015, together with Thales, this company won the competition for the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems to the Thai Ground Forces, offering the Starstrik short-range air defense system.
The new weapons systems are likely to be adopted by units from the Air and Coastal Defense Command of the Thai Navy (Air and Coastal Defense Command-ACDC). The ACDC consists of a coastal defense regiment and two anti-aircraft missile regiments, which are stationed at the Sattahip naval base in the Gulf of Thailand.
