# List of aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force

The following is a list of aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force, past, present, and future.

## Current

| Aircraft | Origin | Role | Designation | Type | In Service | Total | Notes |
| Combat aircraft ||||||||
| Dornier Alpha Jet | Germany | Light attack | B.J7 | Alpha Jet A | 18 | 18 | 14 planned to upgrade to Alpha Jet TH standards All expect to retire within 2031 |
| Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine | United States | Light attack | B.J8 | AT-6TH | 5 | 2 | Six on order |
| Northrop F-5 | United States | Multirole fighter | B.Kh18 | F-5E / TH 1-seat F-5F / TH 2-seat | 303 | 33 | 13 from 33 of F-5E/F upgraded to F-5TH Super Tigris standards which had avionics and weapons upgrades, becoming functionally equivalent to fourth generation fighter. One F-5TH 2-seat (21105) crashed during training on 3 December 2021. All expect to retire within 2031. |
| General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon | United States | Multirole fighter | B.Kh19 | F-16A Block 15 ADFF-16A Block 15 OCUF-16AM Block 20 MLUF-16B Block 15 ADFF-16B Block 15 OCUF-16BM Block 20 MLU | 121312176 | 51 | 3 F-16A-15OCU and 4 F-16B-15OCU received from the RSAF. Block 15 ADF and Block 15 OCU are expect to retire within 2031 |
| Saab JAS 39 Gripen | Sweden | Multirole fighter | B.Kh20 | JAS-39CJAS-39D | 74 | 11 | All received MS20 upgrade. 14 planned. One JAS 39 Gripen C (701108) crashed during an air show on 14 January 2017. |
| AEW&C ||||||||
| Saab 340 AEW&C | Sweden | AEW&C | B.K1 | S100B Argus | 2 | 2 | Aircraft mounted with an Erieye radar. |
| Reconnaissance ||||||||
| Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker | Switzerland | Reconnaissance | B.JT2 | AU-23A | 15 | 15 | mounted with EO/IR |
| Piaggio P.180 Avanti | Italy | Reconnaissance | B.TL20 | Avanti II EVO | 1 | 1 | |
| Diamond DA42 | Austria | Reconnaissance | B.TF20 | DA42MPP | 11 | 11 | mounted with EO/IR |
| Transport ||||||||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | United States | Tactical airlift | B.L8 | C-130HC-130H-30 | 75 | 12 | 10 Being upgraded |
| Basler BT-67 | United States | Transport | B.L2 | PT6A-67R | 7 | 7 | A modified Douglas DC-3 with P&W PT6A Turboprop engines. Used for firefighting/seeding. One lost in 2006. |
| Boeing 737 | United States | VIP | B.L11 | 737-4Z6 BBJ737-8Z6 BBJ | 22 | 4 | |
| Airbus A319 | Germany | VIP/Transport | B.L15 | A319-115CJ | 1 | 1 |
| Airbus A320 | France | VIP/Transport | B.L15 | A320-200ACJ | 2 | 2 | |
| ATR 72 | France | VIP/Transport | B.L16 | ATR-72-500ATR-72-600 | 36 | 36 | |
| Saab 340 | Sweden | Transport | B.L17 | 340B | 5 | 5 | |
| Sukhoi Superjet 100 | Russia | VIP/Transport | B.L18 | SSJ100-95LR | 3 | 3 | |
| Airbus A340 | France | VIP/Transport | B.L19 | A340-541 | 1 | 1 | Former Thai Airways aircraft |
| Helicopter ||||||||
| Bell 412 | United States | VIP/Utility | H.6 | 412412SP412EP | 6 | 6 | 2 retired in Oct 2021. |
| Sikorsky S-92 Superhawk | United States | VIP/Med Evac | H.10 | S-92A | 5 | 5 | |
| Eurocopter EC725 | France | CSAR/Utility | H.11 | EC725H225M | 12 | 12 | . |
| Sikorsky S-70 | United States | VIP/Utility | H.12 | S-70i | 5 | 5 | |
| Eurocopter EC135 | France | Utility | H.13 | H135 | 6 | 6 | |
| Trainer aircraft ||||||||
| KAI T-50 Golden Eagle | South Korea | Light attack/Lead-in fighter trainer | B.KhF2 | T-50TH | 14 | 14 | 2 on order. 14 T-50THs ordered in total. First 4 aircraft delivered in April 2018. |
| Cessna T-41 | United States | Trainer aircraft | B.F14 | T-41D | 6 | 6 | |
| PAC CT/4 | New Zealand | Trainer aircraft | B.F16 | CT-4A/E | 24 | 24 | |
| Diamond DA42 | Austria | Trainer aircraft | B.F20 | DA42 | 18 | 18 | |
| Diamond DA40 | Austria | Trainer aircraft | B.F21 | DA40NG | 8 | 8 | |
| Beechcraft T-6 Texan II | United States | Trainer aircraft | B.F22 | T-6TH | 12 | 12 | |
| RTAF-6 | Thailand | Trainer aircraft | B.TO6 | RTAF6 | 3 | 3 | 25 planned |
| UAV ||||||||
| Aeronautics Defense Dominator | Israel | Reconnaissance | | Dominator-2 | (3) | (3) | Three on order. |
| RTAF U-1 | Thailand | Reconnaissance | BR.TF1 | RTAF U-1 | 17 | 17 | mounted with EO/IR |
| Aerostar Tactical UAS | Israel | Reconnaissance | BR.T1 | Aerostar BP | 4 | 4 | mounted with EO/IR |
| Sapura Cybereye | Malaysia | Reconnaissance | Cybereye II | Sapura Secured Technologies | 3 | 3 | mounted with EO/IR |
| Earth observation satellite ||||||||
| NAPA-1 | Thailand | Reconnaissance | RTAF-SAT-1 | | 1 | 1 | Thai Earth observation satellite. It is the first satellite of the Royal Thai Air Force. The satellite was built by Dutch firm Innovative Solutions In Space (ISISPACE). After being delayed several times partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the satellite was launched on 3 September 2020, on Arianespace Vega rocket's flight VV16. |
| NAPA-2 | Thailand | Reconnaissance | RTAF-SAT-2 | | 1 | 1 | |

### Armament

| Name | Origin | Type | Notes |
| Air-to-air missile ||||
| Python 4/3 | Israel | short range infrared homing missile | 120 obtained |
| AIM-120C AMRAAM | United States | beyond-visual-range missile | initial 50 missiles |
| AIM-9E/J/P Sidewinder | United States | short range infrared homing missile | 600 missiles obtained |
| IRIS-T | Germany | short range infrared homing missile | 40 units – employs a thrust vector control motor |
| Meteor | Germany | beyond-visual-range missile | Future operators |
| Air-to-surface missile ||||
| RBS-15F | Sweden | anti-ship missile | 25 missiles obtained |
| AGM-65D/G Maverick | United States | infrared imaging AGM | 200 missiles obtained |
| GBU-10 Paveway II | United States | Laser-guided bomb | |
| GBU-12 Paveway II | United States | Laser-guided bomb | |
| GBU-16 Paveway II | United States | Laser-guided bomb | |
| GBU-24 Paveway III | United States | Laser-guided bomb | |
| Mark 81 bomb | United States | Low-drag general-purpose bomb | |
| Mark 82 bomb | United States | Low-drag general-purpose bomb | |
| Mark 83 bomb | United States | Low-drag general-purpose bomb | |
| Mark 84 bomb | United States | Low-drag general-purpose bomb | |
| GBU-54 Laser JDAM | United States | Unguided bomb | |
| GBU-31 or GBU-38 | United States | Unguided bomb | |

## Future aircraft
### Purchase Programme

* Additional Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen fighters procurement – RTAF plans to purchase 3 additional Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen fighters.
* Additional KAI T-50TH Golden Eagle Lead-in fighter training procurement – RTAF plans to purchase 2 additional KAI T-50TH Golden Eagle which will increase the fleet size of this type from 12 to 14.
* New Multirole combat aircraft procurement - As a fleet of General Dynamics F-16A/B Fighting Falcon Block 15 ADF and Block 15 OCU are expected to retire within 2031., RTAF plans for a replacement aircraft which will be deployed in 103 Squadron at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. In the beginning, RTAF has made an intention to purchase the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. However, United States has denied a request and offer Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70/72 and Boeing F-15EX Eagle II instead., causing the process to return to considering the selection of aircraft model again. After that, Saab also joined the competition by offering the latest JAS 39E/F Gripen while KAI offers KF-21 Boramae and FA-50 Fighting Eagle As of July 2024, RTAF has decided to choose Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen for the procurement, only waiting for final decision from the government

### Upgrade Programme

* Northrop F-5TH Super Tigris upgrade – Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has signed the contract with Elbit Systems, currently upgrading Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II which had avionics and weapons upgrades, becoming functionally equivalent to fourth generation fighter, it is equipped with new glass cockpit with Head-up display, EL/M-2032, tactical datalink, Sky Shield jamming pod and are capable of firing the beyond visual range air-to-air Derby missile. At first, RTAF has plan to upgrade 14 aircraft However, One upgraded F-5THF two-seat version crashed during training on 3 December 2021, resulting in final number reduced to 13.
* Dornier Alpha Jet TH upgrade – Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has signed the contract with RV Connex, currently upgrading Dornier Alpha Jet A to equipped a new glass cockpit with Head-up display, new HOTAS controller and avionics upgrade from CMC Electronics with 14 aircraft planned.

### Indigenous Programme

* RTAF-6 – Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) plans to produce 25 planes.

## Historic aircraft

Aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force and its precursors, the Siamese Flying Corps (1914–1919), Royal Siamese Air Service (RSAS) (1919–1937) and Royal Siamese Air Force (RSAF) (1937–1939).
| Aircraft type | Origin | Designation | Role | Service period | # used | Notes |
| Aeritalia G.222 | Italy | B.L14 | transport | 1995–2012 | 6 | 3 traded for Saab 340B |
| Aermacchi SF.260 | Italy | B.F15 | trainer | 1973–1999 | 18 | locally built |
| Aero Commander 690 | US | B.PhTh4 | reconnaissance | 1982–1988 | 1 | |
| Aero L-39ZA/ART Albatros | Czechoslovakia | B.KhF1 | trainer | 1994–2021 | 37 | |
| Airbus A310-324 | France | B.L13 | transport | 1991–2016 | 1 | |
| Avro 504N | UK | B.F4 | trainer | 1930–1948 | 70+ | 50+ built locally |
| Beechcraft Bonanza | US | B.S5 | transport | 1951–1962 | 3 | Ex-Royal Thai Navy |
| Beechcraft C-45B/F | US | B.L1 | transport | 1947–1971 | 7 | First transport |
| Beechcraft King Air | US | B.PhTh3 | reconnaissance | 1982–1989 | 1 | |
| Beechcraft Queen Air | US | B.PhTh2 | reconnaissance | 1971–1989 | 3 | |
| Bell 47/OH-13H | US | B.H7 | helicopter | 1972–1973 | 9 | |
| Bell 206B Jet Ranger | US | B.H8/B.HPhT1 | helicopter | 1982–2006 | 7 | 1 ex-Thai Army |
| Bell 212/UH-1N | US | B.H6k | helicopter | 1976–1999 | 2 | |
| Bell UH-1 Iroquois | US | B.H6 | helicopter | 1968–2021 | 31 | Received 31, 18 lost |
| Boeing 100E | US | B.Kh7 | fighter | 1931–1949 | 2 | comparison testing |
| Boripatra | Siam | B.Th2 | bomber | 1927–1940 | 4+ | local design |
| Breguet 14 | France | B.Th1 | bomber | 1919–1937 | 40+ | built locally |
| Breguet III | France | n/a | trainer | 1913–? | 5 | |
| Bristol Bulldog | UK | B.Kh6 | fighter | 1930–1940 | 2 | comparison testing |
| Cessna 150 | US | B.Ph1 | trainer | 1971–2004 | 6 | |
| Cessna 170B | US | B.S7 | transport | 1954–1959 | 9 | |
| Cessna 411 | US | B.PhTh1 | reconnaissance | 1982–1989 | 2 | |
| Cessna A-37 | US | B.J6 | attack | 1972–1994 | 20 | |
| Cessna O-1 Bird Dog | US | B.T2 | reconnaissance | 1967–1990 | 54 | |
| Cessna T-37B/C Tweet | US | B.F12 | trainer | 1961–1996 | 22 | |
| Consolidated PT-1 | US | B.F3 | trainer | 1928–1939 | 4 | |
| Curtiss Hawk 75N | US | B.Kh11 | fighter | 1939–1949 | 12 | ordered 25, received 12 |
| Curtiss Hawk II | US | B.Kh9 | fighter | 1934–1949 | 12 | |
| Curtiss Hawk III | US | B.Kh10 | fighter | 1935–1949 | 74+ | |
| Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver | US | B.J3 | attack | 1951–1955 | 6 | Ex-Royal Thai Navy |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk | Canada | B.F9 | trainer | 1950–1989 | 66 | |
| de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth | UK | B.F10 | trainer | 1951–1961 | 34 | |
| Douglas C-47 & EC-47D | US | B.L2 | transport | 1947–1997 | 55 | B.L2k still in service |
| Douglas C-54/DC-4 | US | B.L3 | transport | 1959–1966 | 2 | |
| Douglas DC-8-62AF | US | B.L10 | transport | 1979–1989 | 3 | |
| Eurocopter AS332L-2 Super Puma | France | B.H9 | helicopter | 1996–2002 | 3 | |
| Fairchild 24 | US | B.S1 | transport | 1938–1950 | 13 ca. | |
| Fairchild C-123B/K | US | B.L4 | transport | 1964–1995 | 46 | |
| Fairey Firefly FR.1 & T.2 | UK | B.J4 | attack | 1951–1955 | 12 | later target tug |
| GAF N.22B Nomad | Australia | B.L9 | transport/reconnaissance | 1982–2015 | 22 | |
| Grob G 109 | Germany | B.R2 | trainer | 1989–1994 | 2 | motor glider |
| Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat | US | B.Kh15 | fighter | 1951–1963 | 207 | |
| Grumman Widgeon | US | B.S6 | transport | 1951–1956 | 5 | |
| Heinkel HD 43 | Germany | B.Kh8 | fighter | 1930–1940 | 2 | comparison testing |
| Helio Courier | US | B.Th1 | transport | 1963–1986 | 20 | |
| Hiller 360/UH-12 | US | B.H2 | helicopter | 1950–1952 | 5 | |
| Hoffman H-36 Dimona | Austria | B.R1 | trainer | 1983–1994 | 10 ca. | motor glider |
| Kaman HH-43 Huskie | US | B.H5 | helicopter | 1962–1970 | 4 | |
| Kawasaki KH-4 | Japan | B.HPhT2 | reconnaissance helicopter | 1982–1985 | 1 | ex-Thai Army |
| Lockheed T-33A/RT-33A | US | B.F11 | trainer | 1955–1996 | 54 | |
| Martin 139WSM & 166 | US | B.Th3 | bomber | 1937–1949 | 15 | 9 ex-Dutch 166s via Japan |
| Miles Magister | UK | B.F7 | trainer | 1947–1952 | 20 | |
| Mitsubishi Ki-21 | Japan | B.Th4 | bomber | 1940–1949 | 9 | |
| Mitsubishi Ki-30 | Japan | B.J2 | attack | 1940–1951 | 25 | |
| Nakajima Ki-27 | Japan | B.Kh12 | fighter | 1942–1945 | 12 | |
| Nakajima Ki-43 | Japan | B.Kh13 | fighter | 1943–1949 | 24 | |
| Nieuport 17 & 21 | France | B.Kh1 | fighter | 1918–1927 | 4+ | |
| Nieuport 24bis | France | B.Kh2 | fighter | 1918–1932 | 12+ | |
| Nieuport 80 | France | B.F1 | trainer | 1918–1935 | 12 ca. | |
| Nieuport 83 | France | B.F2 | trainer | 1918–1935 | 12 ca. | |
| Nieuport II & IV | France | n/a | trainer | 1913–? | 4 | |
| Nieuport-Delage NiD 29 | France | B.Kh4 | fighter | 1923–1936 | 12+ | built locally |
| North American F-86F/L Sabre | US | B.Kh17 | fighter | 1961–1972 | 74 | |
| North American T-6 Texan | US | B.F8 | trainer | 1948–1974 | 220 | |
| North American T-28D | US | B.F13 | trainer | 1962–1988 | 120 | |
| Northrop F-5A/B/C & RF-5A Freedom Fighter | US | B.Kh18 | fighter | 1967–2000 | 29 | Variants in service. |
| PAC CT/4 Airtrainer | New Zealand | B.F16 | trainer | 1999–2018 | 24 | |
| Percival Prince | UK | B.T1 | reconnaissance | 1952–1962 | 1 | |
| Pilatus PC-9 | Switzerland | B.F19 | trainer | 1991-2023 | 22 | |
| Piper L-4 Cub/Piper PA-11 | US | B.S3 | transport | 1947–1962 | 44 | |
| Prajadhipok | Siam | B.Kh5 | fighter | 1929–? | 1 | local design |
| Rearwin 9000 | US | B.S2 | transport | 1938–1947 | 2 | |
| Republic F-84G Thunderjet | US | B.Kh16 | fighter | 1956–1963 | 34 | |
| RFB Fantrainer 400 & 600 | Germany | B.F18 | trainer | 1988–1994 | 26 | |
| Rockwell OV-10C Bronco | US | B.J5 | attack | 1971–2004 | 32 | to Philippine AF |
| RTAF-4 | Thailand | B.F17 | trainer | 1974–1989 | 13 ca. | locally built |
| Sikorsky S-51/H-5 | US | B.H1 | helicopter | 1950–1954 | 4 | |
| Sikorsky S-55/H-19 | US | B.H3 | helicopter | 1954–1965 | 11 | |
| Sikorsky S-58/S-58T/H-34 | US | B.H4 | helicopter | 1962–2003 | 65 | |
| SPAD VII & XIII | France | B.Kh3 | fighter | 1919–1931 | 32+ | |
| Stinson L-5 & L-5B | US | B.S4 | transport | 1947–1959 | 10 | |
| Supermarine Spitfire FR.14/PR.19 | UK | B.Kh14 | fighter | 1951–1955 | 34 | |
| Tachikawa Ki-36 | Japan | B.F6 | trainer | 1942–1950 | 24 | |
| Vought V-93S Corsair | US | B.J1/B.F5 | attack/trainer | 1934–1950 | 84+ | Locally built/modified |

### Gallery

* Royal Thai Air Force Boeing 100E
* RTAF Tachikawa Ki-36
* model of RTAF Nakajima Ki-43
* RTAF Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat
* North American F-86L Sabre of the RTAF in flight
* Royal Thai Air Force T-33A
* Decommissioned Northrop F-5E Tiger II of the RTAF at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum