Thai Army buys eight attack choppers for Bt12 bn from US

The US has sold eight light attack helicopters and other military items for Bt12 billion to Thailand, according to a US government statement today.

Apart from the eight Boeing-made AH6I helicopters, the US$400-million deal also included ammunitions for their armament, such as 50 rounds of anti-tank AGM-114R guided Hellfire missiles, 200 rockets under Advance Precision Kill Weapon System and 70 rounds of non-guided Hydra. 

Ten sets of high-speed machine guns, and four sets of large-caliber heavy machine guns were also part of the sale.

Other items coming under deal were several sets of aerial radars, communication and navigation devices for the helicopters and 20 sets of night-vision goggles.

The statement, issued by Defence Security Cooperation Agency on behalf of US Department of Defence, said that the eight new helicopters would replace the seven ageing AH-1F Cobra attack helicopters in the Royal Thai Army fleet.