Aviation News – The Royal Thai Navy has finalized an agreement to acquire two Airbus C295 aircraft in an enhanced transport configuration to boost national security. This critical procurement will significantly upgrade the country’s maritime surveillance and search and rescue operations alongside its existing logistical infrastructure.
The strategic acquisition marks a major development milestone in standardizing the country’s military aerospace assets, with the Royal Thai Navy officially selecting the platform on May 27, 2026. This latest transaction follows a consecutive contract signed earlier this month by the Royal Thai Air Force for two matching aircraft. It also expands upon a decade of operations by the Royal Thai Army, which has successfully deployed a trio of these tactical airlifters for frontline troop and cargo transport since 2016.
By integrating these new assets across all three military branches, the Airbus C295 officially establishes itself as the definitive tactical transport aircraft of reference for the Thai Armed Forces. The procurement plan will see both naval airframes fully assembled at the specialized Airbus Defence and Space manufacturing facilities located in Seville, Spain. According to the development timeline established by the defense ministry and the European manufacturer, engineers expect to deliver the initial completed aircraft to Thailand by the end of 2028.
Operating directly from the strategic U-Tapao air base in Sattahip, the newly modified naval fleet will leverage a specialized airframe design capable of flying long-endurance maritime patrols. The aircraft functions as a multi-role platform that transitions seamlessly between heavy logistics and defensive scouting without sacrificing fuel efficiency. Technicians will outfit these specific naval variants with an advanced Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) sensor suite, giving flight crews the operational capability to detect, classify, and identify critical targets on land or at sea under both day and night conditions.
