The three-month "Navy 2016" drill, from late March to last Thursday, has made important marks in military cooperation, with the navy and the air force engaging for the first time in the same exercise involving the use of their main warships and warplanes.
Aimed at preparing for possible conflicts in the region, especially those that could lead to a closure of a gulf or a marine transport route, the Navy 2016 drill also included a joint sub drill with the USS San Francisco submarine of the US.
The sub drill was called "Guardian Sea" and conducted in the Andaman Sea last week.
"There is no room for complacency when it comes to national defence, especially in the event that Thailand will be affected by the possible consequences of conflicts in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula," said a source in the navy.
An important area of the drill was an aerial and coastal offensive where fighter jets may successfully slip in through the first line of defence. Also, the joint navy-air force drill was a demonstration of the advanced fighting strategies which the two armed forces have deployed.
The source added the Thai navy and air force managed to effectively unlock a restriction imposed on the Thai air force by the US, which normally forbids the communication systems on the US-made F16 jets from synchronising with the Thais' Gripen fighter aircraft, manufactured in Sweden.
The Gripen aircraft and the F16 jets have different communication systems and for security reasons the US will not unlock the link of the F16 jet's system allowing communication between the F16 jet and the Gripen aircraft.
For the purpose of the drill, the air force and navy were able to overcome the restriction and talk to the US-made planes anyway. "The [Thai] air force has for some time requested the unlocking but the US has never agreed on that," said an air force source.
The drill also marked the first time the HTMS Chakri Naruebet, HTMS Taksin and HTMS Naresuan were brought together for the exercise after recently being equipped with a new combat system. The three ships were used in the drill together with six Gripen fighter aircraft and eight F16 jets from the air force.
With the Network Centric and Tactical Datalink systems installed on the ships, the Gripen and the Saab 340 AEW (airborne early warning) aircraft could be linked with the help of the SeaHawk S70B in terms of communication.
The TDL-E, or Link E was employed to communicate with the F16 jets and share images and information between the Gripen and the F16 in real time, which was a process crucial for making the drill happen.
In a simulated situation, the eight F16 jets were assigned to play as enemy jets trying to slip in through the radar scanning system of HTMS Chakri Naruebet and that of the Saab 340 AEW. But the eight enemy jets were intercepted prompting a defence to be put up against them.
The Network Centric and Tactical Datalink systems on the ship enabled the Gripen to become an "eye" capturing pictures in a long and high range.
HTMS Taksin and HTMS Naresuan, meanwhile, served as the eyes at sea surface level to watch out for a possible presence of any invading enemy jets. "This drill has enabled the navy and the air force to look out for one another," said navy chief Adm Na Areenij who lauded the drill as a new page in the history of Thai military drills.
Apart from these ships, 29 other warships were used in the exercise that involved more than 5,000 members of the armed forces, while 11 patrol helicopters were used in addition to the F16 and the Gripen.
This was only the first step in the unprecedented navy-air force joint exercise as more such drills are expected, said air force chief ACM Tritos Sonjaeng. Similar drills may be carried out more frequently, such as every three months," he said, adding that the army will possibly join the drills.
