Dominator XP commissioning
On 1 September 2023, the Kong Thap Akat Thai (RTAF, Royal Thai Air Force) held a commissioning ceremony at Takhli air base for the Dominator XP. The ceremony showed one aircraft, tailnumber 506, as the centrepiece of the celebration.
The Dominator XP aircraft is a Diamond DA42 Twin Star, heavily modified by the Israeli Auronautics Defence Systems into a Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The mission system is characterised by a multi-purpose payload such as Engagement Operations (EO), Search and Rescue (SAR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) and Communications Intelligence (COMINT).
In 2018, Thailand ordered three DA42 Dominators with Aeronautics Ltd. (Israel). The contract was valued at USD 27 million. The Dominators will be operated by the newly erected 302sq, subordinate to the 3rd Wing.
The new aircraft received the local designation BR.T.3. This comes after two other dedicated survey aircraft, being B.T.1 for the Percival P.54 Survey Prince 3A and B.T.2 for the O-1 Bird Dog.
Credit photo: 3 UAV Wing/Royal Thai Air Force (Facebook)