The United States has offered to lower the interest rates for the purchase of F-16 fighter jets by the Royal Thai Air Force in an effort to get the Thai government to pick the American-made jets over Sweden's Gripen fighter aircraft, according to a source in the Defence Ministry on Monday.
The offer came after the RTAF revealed last week that it is considering purchasing the Gripen jets over the F-16s, citing the result of a study by the air force's procurement committee that found the Gripen E/F to be most suited to the air force's needs.
RTAF commander ACM Punpakdee Pattanakul forwarded the results of the study to Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang for further deliberation last week.
The source said the RTAF commander announced the report's conclusion to the press last week "to prevent political interference that could change the final decision".
However, shortly after learning of the government's preference for the Gripen jets, the US immediately offered to lower the interest rates for the procurement of the F-16 Block 70/72 jets from 5% to 3.5% "with an extended repayment period", said the source, without providing further details about the repayment terms.
"Let's see what offer Saab [who manufactures the Gripen jets] comes up with to compete with the US," said the source.
Mr Sutin is due to visit the US soon, during which more discussions about the F-16 deal will be held, the source added.
"As of now, he has yet to review the RTAF's study and advise the prime minister as to which jet the government should purchase. The final decision, however, is expected to be no different [to the RTAF's study]," said the source.
The government won't be making its final decision soon, said the source, to allow both the US and Sweden to compete for this deal.
The source said ACM Punpakdee will attend the Royal Military Air Tattoo 2024 and the Farnborough International Airshow in England.