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RTAF lays out future plans in formal white paper

21st February 2020 - 16:00 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch

RSS

On 20 February, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) took the novel step of releasing a 100-page white paper. It lists procurement plans over the next decade, but much of its raison d’être seems to be to stake a claim for long-term funding as its aircraft inventories gradually ail.

The Thai fighter fleet is on average 26.05 years old, compared to 31.75 years for the transport fleet and 48 years for special mission aircraft.

The RTAF noted in the white paper: ‘Due to the limited allocated budget, the RTAF is not capable of replacing all end-of-service life inventory by new

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