Boeing AH-6i for Thailand
On 23 February 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) awarded Boeing a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) USD 104 million contract for the delivery of eight AH-6i light attack reconnaissance helicopters to the Kong Thap Bok Thai (RTA, Royal Thai Army). The contract also includes spares, training devices, support equipment, and technical publications.
The helicopters will be produced in Mesa (AZ), with deliveries planned through 2024. It is reported that the deal might paves the way for the RTA to replace its fleet of ageing Bell AH-1F Huey Cobras as part of the country’s defence modernization efforts.
Currently, the RTA operates the AH-1F with the 3rd Aviation Battalion Raptor at Lop Buri/Sa Pran Nak. According to the Scramble Magazine database, the RTA has seven active Cobras in its active inventory, although five of them have not been seen during the last three years.
Already back in 2019, the US State Department had approved the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Thailand of the eight light attack reconnaissance helicopters.
Thailand is the third customer for the AH-6i, the orther two are the Royal Jordanian Air Force and the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
According to Boeing, the AH-6 features, as a beneficiary of ongoing AH-64 Apache modernisation efforts, an advanced mission computer capable of processing large amounts of data and sharing system information with the rest of the aircraft quickly — enhancing safety and situational awareness, enabling faster decision making, reducing pilot workload and decreasing support costs throughout the aircraft’s life cycle.
Photo by Boeing Defense