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Thailand - Several Defense Equipment Replacement were Postponed Due to Budget Cuts

 Replacement of AH-1F and C-130H an also second and third S-26T submarines were delayed due to defence budget cuts (all photos : AAG)

Thailand plans to cut the defense budget for the fiscal year 2022 in response to the coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak. This will be Thailand's third consecutive military budget cut if approved by the House of Representatives of Thailand in June 2021.The annual budget summary for the year 2022 in Thailand was recently published by the Thai Government Budget Office. Represents Thailand's defense budget (which will start in October 2021) that has been proposed around 203.280 million baht ($ 6.5 billion).

According to the 2022 budget document, this shows that the defense budget has been cut to about 11,000,000,000 baht (or 5% cut) compared to the annual defense budget Year 2021 that has been allocated 214,530,000,000 baht.The allocation of the defense budget for the year 2021 has been cut down to approximately 17,000,000,000 baht (or 7% cut) compared to the annual defense budget 2020 approved at 234,740,000 baht.However, in terms of the overall proportion of the budget for the year 2022 proposed by the Thai government the defense budget is raised to 6.6 percent. While in the fiscal year 2021, Defense accounted for 6.5 percent.

The Thai government has been forced to reduce the overall expense budget allocation plan by 5.6 percent. This is largely due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.In 2020, the defense budget ratio was 7.2 percent. The total budget of the country and in 2019 was approximately 7.5 percent. Janes analyzed the observations that the last time the Thai defense budget ratio was below 7 percent was the year 2006.In the framework of the defense budget for the year 2022, the budget summary document shows that The Royal Thai Army will receive a budget that is about 99,370,000 baht (equivalent to 49 percent of the total defense budget).

The Royal Thai Navy received a budget around 41.3 million baht and the Royal Thai Air Force received a budget around 38.4 million baht respectively.Several years of ongoing defense budget cuts have resulted in the modernization of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, including a new attack helicopter to replace Bell AH-1F Cobra delayed by the Army.Chinese S26T submarines, second and third phases, the Thai Navy that has been postponed for another year and a new transport aircraft to replace Lockheed Martin C-130H, Royal Thai Air Force, that should start in the year 2022. 

Philippine Air Force (PAF) Looking Forward to Delivery of 10 Black Hawks

 National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has said that he is looking forward to this year’s delivery of remaining 10 S70i Black Hawk Combat Utility Helicopters built by Poland-based company PZL Mielec.

In December 2020, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) accepted the delivery of 6 S70i Black Hawks as part of the 16 units ordered from PZL Mielec.“Since their acquisition, our Blackhawk S-70is have greatly boosted the operational readiness of the PAF in both combat and non-combat missions. Their larger capacity and impressive horsepower allows for a faster and long-range transport,” Secretary Lorenzana said.

“Looking forward to the delivery of the remaining 10 Blackhawks this year,” he added.

Australian Army Begins Operational Testing of Carl-Gustaf M4

 

The Australian Army commenced operational test and evaluation of the manportable 84 mm Carl-Gustaf M4 reloadable recoilless rifle at the Army’s School of Infantry in Singleton, New South Wales, in early May. The M4 is the intended replacement for the army’s in-service M3 variant as it reaches its 10 year lifespan.Weighing 6.3 kg, the M4 is lighter than the M3 (10 kg), with the length of the overall launcher reduced from 106.5 cm (M3) to less than 100 cm (M4). Driven by a universal requirement to reduce the load burden on ground combat operators, weight savings have been achieved through the development of an improved carbon fibre casing, the introduction of a titanium liner, and the substitution of the M3 steel venturi with a reduced-size titanium venturi recoil damper. 

The standard launcher sight is the same telescopic sight with a manual ballistic setting drum featured on the M3, although the M4 design is also optimised to interface with attachable intelligent sighting systems (Fire-Control System [FCS]) and new Carl-Gustaf programmable ammunition – essential discriminators in terms of improved precision and kill probability. The M4 also features an adjustable shoulder rest and grip, along with a ‘transport safety’ function for the cocking lever, which enables the loaded round to be carried safely in combat. The M4’s range is characterised by Saab as ‘munition-dependent’.