The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) (; ) is the

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

of the Kingdom of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Since its establishment in 1913 as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force has engaged in numerous major and minor conflicts. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

era, the RTAF was supplied with

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

-aid equipment.

History

Belgian pilot Charles Van Den Born performed a flying demonstration over

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

in January 1911, greatly impressing Prince

Chakrabongse Bhuvanath Chakrabongse Bhuvanath (; ; 3 March 1883 – 13 June 1920), was the 40th child of King Chulalongkorn and the fourth child of Queen Sri Bajarindra. Early life and education The prince was sent to the Russian Empire in his teens, where he stud ...

, brother of King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

, and he even accepted an invitation for a flight. Chakrabongse sent three army officers to France, who began flight training at

Vélizy-Villacoublay Vélizy-Villacoublay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the Kilometre Zero, center and ea ...

in July 1912. The officers became qualified aviators a year later. Soon after,

Sra Pathum airfield Sra Pathum Airfield is the first airport in Thailand, established in 1911 at the site of Royal Bangkok Sports Club, Sra Pathum Racecourse in Bangkok, Thailand. On March 8, 1914, it was closed due to poor weather conditions and its proximity to Ba ...

was established along with a temporary hangar to house planes and also host flight training. In late 1913, the three new aviators returned home after arranging for the purchase of four Nieuport monoplanes and a Bréguet biplane. The aviation section put on a demonstration in January 1914, gaining the support of the King and a permanent aviation group was established and an air base at Don Muang was assigned, as the Royal Aeronautical Service, under Army control. Siam entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

in July 1917, and a

Siamese Expeditionary Force The Siamese Expeditionary Forces () (also known as Siamese Volunteer Corps) consisted of the Royal Siamese Army sent to Europe under the command of Major General Phraya Thephatsadin in 1917 to help the Allies of World War I, Triple Entente fight i ...

of around 1,200 men was sent to France, arriving in June 1918. Among them were 370 pilots and

groundcrew In all forms of aviation, ground crew (also known as ground operations in civilian aviation) are personnel that service aircraft while on the ground, during routine turn-around; as opposed to aircrew, who operate all aspects of an aircraft whi ...

, including more than 100 officers who were sent to flight school first at Istres and Avord, and then at

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location I ...

Le Crotoy Le Crotoy (; Picard: ''Ch'Crotoé'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Crotellois''. History Isabella of France, queen consort of England, and her son (later Edward III ...

, La Chapelle-la-Reine, Biscarosse and Piox. Eventually, The 95 pilots who qualified as military aviators flew a few operational

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

s in the closing weeks of the war but suffered no casualties, nor scored any kills. Their training did mean that Siam entered the post-World War I period with one of the best equipped and trained air forces in Asia. In the 1930s the Royal Aeronautical Service began to replace French aircraft with American designs, purchasing more than 95 aircraft, including the

Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12 or Boeing F4B is an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. It was the chief fighter aircraft in American service during the early 193 ...

E, Curtiss Hawks, and Vought Corsairs. The air force was formally separated into its own branch, the Royal Siamese Air Force, in April 1937 and five operational wings were established. In 1939, when Siam became Thailand, the service was renamed the Royal Thai Air Force. At the end of 1940, the RTAF once again saw combat, this time in the

Franco-Thai War The Franco-Thai War (October 1940 – 28 January 1941, ; ) was fought between Thailand and Vichy France over certain areas of French Indochina. Negotiations shortly before World War II had shown that the French government was willing to alter th ...

, a border conflict against

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. The RTAF operated in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

, attacking ground forces and

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s and defending against French bombing raids, until a ceasefire was arranged in January 1941. Later that year, on 7 December, Thailand was invaded by Japan. The RTAF took an active role in the resistance. Combat Wings 1 and 5 engaged significantly more advanced Japanese aircraft over Thailand's eastern border, but suffered heavy losses, including almost 30 percent of Wing 5, before a cease-fire took effect the following day.

Structure

The Air Force is commanded by the Commander of the Royal Thai Air Force (ผู้บัญชาการทหารอากาศไทย). The Royal Thai Air Force Headquarters is located in Don Muang Airbase,

. The RTAF consists of headquarters and five groups: command, combat, support, education and training, and special services.

Headquarters Group

* Royal Flight Aircraft Administrative Center * Royal Flight Helicopter Administrative Center * Air Warfare Center * Office of Public Sector Development, RTAF * Office of Intellectual Development, RTAF

Command Group

* RTAF Secretariat * Directorate of Administrative Service * Directorate of Personnel * Directorate of Intelligence * Directorate of Operations * Directorate of Logistics * Directorate of Civil Affairs * Directorate of Information and Communications Technology * Office of the RTAF Comptroller * Directorate of Finance * Directorate of Inspector General * Office of RTAF Internal Audit * Office of RTAF Safety * Office of RTAF Judge Advocate

Combat Group

The Royal Thai Air Force Combat Group is divided into 11 combat wings, 1 forward operating base wing, plus a flight training school and a few direct-reporting units. RTAF Basler BT-67

Squadrons

The following squadrons are currently active with the Royal Thai Air Force.

Support Group

* Directorate of Aeronautical Engineering * Directorate of Communications and Electronics * Directorate of Armament * Directorate of Quartermaster * Directorate of Civil Engineering * Directorate of Transportation * RTAF Software Center

Directorate of Medical Services

First set up in 1913 in the same year as the Air Force, providing nursing services only, and over the years has gradually expanded. It operates

Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital () is a hospital located in Sai Mai District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is a military hospital operated by the Royal Thai Air Force#Directorate of Medical Services, Directorate of Medical Services, The Royal Thai Air Forc ...

and Royal Thai Air Force Hospital in Bangkok, as well as smaller hospitals at each wing. The directorate has made a teaching agreement with the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University to train students at Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital, accepting about 30 students per academic year.

RTAF Software Center

The Chief of the Air Force has envisioned and identified weaknesses in

procurement software Procurement software refers to a range of business software designed to streamline and automate purchasing processes for businesses and organizations. By managing information flows and transactions between procuring entities, suppliers, and partners ...

, which include limitations regarding copyright usage, maintenance, envisioning obstacles, and expanding usage to cover and cater to the needs of the Air Force. Consequently, there has been an initiation to ethically

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

, independently, for the first time. This encompasses care from

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

systems,

Big Data Big data primarily refers to data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data processing, data-processing application software, software. Data with many entries (rows) offer greater statistical power, while data with ...

Avionics software Avionics software is embedded software with legally mandated safety and reliability concerns used in avionics. The main difference between avionic software and conventional embedded software is that the development process is ''required by law ...

, strategic planning software, and support technology for the future, leading to the ISO 29110 software development standard. This initiative has also propelled the consideration to establish a comprehensive software-focused unit within the Air Force.

Education and Training Group

* Directorate of Education and Training * Air War College * Air Command and Staff College * Senior Air Officer School * Squadron Officer School * Officer Training School * Academy Instructor School * Non-Commissioned Officer School * Air Technical Training School * RTAF Language Center * Personal Testing Center * Technical Service Division * Chaplain Division *

Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Thai Air Force Academy The Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy () (NKRAFA) is a military academy for officer cadets of the Royal Thai Air Force. History In 1950, the Royal Air Force (RTAF) started recruiting officers who completed their training fr ...

Special Service Group

* Research and Development Center for Space and Aeronautical Science and Technology * Directorate of Welfare * Office of Don Mueang RTAF Base Commander * Institute of Aviation Medicine

Security Force Command

The RTAF Security Force Command (Thai: หน่วยบัญชาการอากาศโยธิน) is a Division size unit in the Royal Thai Air Force. It has been in existence since 1937. They are based near Don Mueang International Airport. The RTAF Security Force Command is the main air force ground forces and special forces which providing light infantry for anti-hijacking capabilities, protecting air bases and high value assets, protecting international airport in insurgent areas. It also serves as the Royal Thai Air Force Special Operations Regiment (RTAF SOR) which consists of various units such as Combat Control Team (CCT), Pararescue Jumpers (PJs), Tactical Air Control Party (TACP). Royal Thai Air Force Security Force Command consist of 3 main regiments and multiple support units. Additionally, one separated air base protection battalions and one separated anti-aircraft battalions are station in each air bases.

Royal Thai Air Force bases

The Royal Thai Air Force maintains a number of modern bases which were constructed between 1954 and 1968, have permanent buildings and ground support equipment. All but one were built and used by United States forces until their withdrawal from Thailand in 1976 when the RTAF took over the installations at

Takhli Takhli is a town in the province of Nakhon Sawan Province, Nakhon Sawan in northern Thailand. The population (2005) is 42,700. It is the site of the Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base. The town lies on the train line between Bangkok and Chiang Mai ...

and Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat). In the late 1980s, these bases and Don Muang Air Base outside

, which the air force shares with civil aviation, remain the primary operational installations. Maintenance of base facilities abandoned by the United States (Ubon, Udorn) proved costly and exceeded Thai needs; they were turned over to the Department of Civil Aviation for civil use. Nonetheless, all runways were still available for training and emergency use. By 2004 the Royal Thai Air Force had its main base at Don Muang airport, adjacent to

Don Mueang International Airport Don Mueang International Airport — known as Bangkok International Airport before 2006 — is one of two international airports serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the other being Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). The airport is considered ...

. The RTAF also had large air fields and facilities at Nakon Ratchasima

Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani (, ) is one of the four main cities in Thailand's Isan region, alongside Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat), Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen, collectively known as the "big four of Isan." Located on the Mun River in the southeastern Isan, ...

, and

Equipment

Aircraft

Armament

Future

Budget

RTAF budgets are shown below by

fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

(FY):

Rank structure

Officers

Other ranks

Aircraft insignia

Roundels

Tail markings

Sports

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

The Siam Cup BJJ ( Brazilian jiu-jitsu) International tournament was held at the Show DC stadium in

from 2017 in cooperation with the Arete BJJ

dōjō A is a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning, or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts. The term literally means "place of the Way" in Japanese. History The word ''dōjō'' originates fro ...

, hosted by the Royal Thai Air Force. Each year, the tournament brings together more than 400 fighters from more than 50 countries to compete. The Siam Cup BJJ 2021 was scheduled to take place on May 8, but due to restrictions imposed for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Thai government temporarily postponed all sporting events.

References

Notes Bibliography * Wieliczko, Leszek A. and Zygmunt Szeremeta. ''Nakajima Ki 27 Nate'' (bilingual Polish/English). Lublin, Poland: Kagero, 2004. * .

External links

*
RTAF Official website (English version)

Royal Thai Air Force Whitebook on Gripen program (Thai)

Royal Thai Air Force Press Release on Gripen program (Eng)

Royal Thai Air Force VDO on Gripen program (Thai)

Royal Thai Air Force Museum
Many Historical Aircraft Here (English Page available)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050314044040/http://www.airportthai.co.th/airportnew/html/aat.html Early history of the Airports of Thailand Authority
Japanese Aircraft In Royal Thai Air Force and Royal Thai Navy Service During WWII
at j-aircraft.com {{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1913 1913 establishments in Siam Air forces by country Military of Thailand