TSAMTO, July 2. Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) has handed over the first AT-6E Wolverine light combat aircraft to the Thai Air Force.
As reported by Aagth1.blogspot.com On June 19, representatives of the Thai Air Force inspected the progress of work on AT-6TH aircraft with serial numbers "41101" and "41102" in the final assembly workshop in the Takhli area (Nakhon Sawan province) of Thai Aviation Industries, and recently the first of them was transferred to the 411 squadron of the 41st Air Wing at the Chiang Mai Air Force Base.
As reported by TSAMTO, on November 14, 2021, the Thai Air Force command concluded a contract with the American company Textron Aviation Defense (a division of Textron Inc.) for the supply of 8 AT-6E Wolverine light combat aircraft, ground support equipment, spare parts and personnel training. The cost of the order was 4.314 billion. baht ($143.4 million). According to the terms of the contract, the work will be performed at the Textron Aviation enterprise in Wichita (pcs.Kansas).
Thus, the Thai Air Force became the first foreign customer of an American light attack aircraft, which in Thailand received the designation AT-6TH. AT-6 are designed to perform a wide range of tasks, including border security, combating smuggling and drug trafficking. The new aircraft will replace the outdated L-39 Albatross.
On August 29, 2023, the US Department of Defense announced the signing by the US Air Force Command with Textron Aviation Inc. of a contract for the supply of components for AT-6 aircraft that were not included in the basic contract for the direct commercial sale of these light combat aircraft to the Thai Air Force. The cost of the contract, which is being financed, including within the framework of the Foreign Military Sales program, amounted to $12.466 million.
The American company said that the contract will contribute to the growth of the capabilities of the Thai aerospace industry in accordance with the 10-year development plan of the Thai Air Force and the S-Curve 11 defense industry development strategy. The statement stated that the AT-6 will be adopted by the Thai Air Force in 2024. They will be part of the 411 Squadron of the 41st Air Wing, stationed at Chiang Mai Air Base.
In November 2022, Textron sent an AT-6E demonstrator aircraft with registration number N610AT to the Thai Air Force Flight Training School (Kamphaeng Saen Air Base) to test the integration of various systems.
Training of Thai aircraft maintenance specialists began in Thailand in 2023. As expected at the conclusion of the contract, the training of AT-6 pilots began in the United States, starting in 2024. On March 25, 2024, the Thai Air Force posted on its social networks a series of images of an AT-6TH training flight with serial number 41103 (American registration number N2790B) in the United States (Wichita, Kansas). The training course for eight Thai instructor pilots was conducted by Textron Aviation Defense in Wichita from February 12 to May 15, 2024.
We also recall that in September 2020, the Thai Air Force Command signed a contract with Textron Aviation Defense worth $ 162 million for the supply of 12 T-6C Texan-2 training aircraft (Thai designation T-6TH), auxiliary equipment and services. The unification of the T-6C with the AT-6E Volverin is about 85%, which will simplify operation, as well as reduce maintenance costs and spare parts supply. It was assumed that the first two aircraft would fly to Thailand from the United States, and the rest would be assembled from machine kits at the facilities of the Thai defense industry.
The first pair of T-6Cs arrived at Chiang Mai International Airport in Thailand on November 12, 2022. The official ceremony of acceptance into service of the Thai Air Force of all 12 aircraft took place at the Kamphaeng Saen Air Base (prov.Nakhon Pathom) northeast of Bangkok on August 22, 2023.
