First Thai Strykers Arrive
The U.S. Security Assistance Organization in Thailand announced on, 29 August, the arrrival of the first M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICVs) ordered by the Royal Thai Army.
This follows a previous Reuters report that the first batch of Strykers would arrive early in September. The same Reuters report states that the Royal Thai Army intends to acquire 120 Strykers by 2020.
The U.S. State Department announced a possible Foreign Military Sale of 60 Strykers to Thailand in July, with the Defense Security Cooperation Agency supplying the documentation required to notify Congress of the sale on 26 July.
The Bangkok Post reports that the Strykers purchased originally saw service with the U.S. Army, and have been refurbished for the sale. Jane’s reports that the Royal Thai Army is paying 2.96 billion Thai baht ($94 million) for 37 Strykers, with the remaining 23 funded by US military assistance.
In addition to the 60 Strykers, the order includes 60 M2 Flex .50 caliber machine guns, spare parts, Basic Issue Items (BII), Components of End Items (COEI), Additional Authorized List (AAL) (specific items for operations and maintenance), Special Tools and Test Equipment (STTE), technical manuals, OCONUS Deprocessing Service, M6 smoke grenade launchers (4 per vehicle) and associated spares, AN/VAS-5 Driver’s Vision Enhancer (DVE), AN/VIC-3 vehicle intercommunications system, contractor provided training and Field Service Representatives (FSR), and other related elements of logistics and program support.
While the Royal Thai Army has not officially stated a value for the order, the DSCA estimates the total value of the order at $175 million.
The delivered Strykers will go to the 11th Infantry Division in Chachoengsao Province and several other units. The first team of Thai soldiers assigned to man the Strykers have been sent to the US for training.
Thailand is a longtime ally of the United States in the region, but the 2014 military coup resulted in a downturn in relations between the nations, including a reduction in military aid. This and the troubled delivery of Ukrainian T-84s has resulted in Thailand turning to China for military hardware, notably their purchase of VT-4 main battle tanks and ZBL-09 armored personnel carriers. Thailand-US relations have been recovering following a contested 2019 election that nominally restored civilian rule.