Air Force to change name to protect national space interests

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has proposed changing its name to the Royal Thai Air Force and Space and establishing a new unit to protect Thailand’s air and space interests, RTAF spokesman Air Marshal Prapas Sornjaidee said on Tuesday.

The move is in line with the air force’s policy to protect national air and space interests, which have an estimated economic value of 29 billion baht per year and employ 1.6 million people in the telecoms, broadcasting and related industries, he said.

Prapas said the new National Air and Space Interests Coordination Centre will be under the Air Force Operation Centre and supervised by the Chief of the Air Staff, who will serve as a coordinator with both internal and external agencies.

The spokesman underscored that the establishment of a new centre does not constitute increasing personnel or salary. The centre will be staffed, on a rotational basis, by personnel from the RTAF’s Space Operations Centre, Internal Security Operations Command, and related agencies.

Prapas said the RTAF is drafting the amendments to related acts to allow the name change and establishment of the new centre. The drafts will be proposed to the National Defence Council within the 2025 fiscal year, after which they must be approved by the Parliament and receive the King’s endorsement before they can be published in the Royal Gazette.

The whole process is expected to take around 3 years, he said.