Thales and Universal Communication Systems (UCS) have signed a contract to deliver a new Integrated Platform Management System for the Royal Thai Navy’s aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet, according to the company.
The system will replace the ship’s existing platform controls with a modernised suite intended to improve monitoring, automation and crew situational awareness. Thales stated that the IPMS will integrate with the carrier’s combat and navigation systems and provide centralised oversight of mechanical, electrical and damage-control functions.
The upgrade is being tailored to the vessel’s size and configuration. Built in the 1990s and commissioned in 1997, Chakri Naruebet remains the Royal Thai Navy’s flagship and the only aircraft carrier in Southeast Asia.
Supich Ansvananda, managing director of UCS, said his company will receive a transfer of technical know-how as part of the programme. He said “this will enable UCS to perform effective in-country maintenance and through-life support”, adding that the initiative strengthens Thailand’s defence industrial base.
Nicolas Bernardin, Thales’s country director for Thailand, described the upgrade as a complex undertaking for a ship of this scale. He said “the IPMS will enhance the operational capability of this significant platform and marks a new chapter of partnership between Thales and UCS”, noting the firm’s long-standing role in supporting the Royal Thai Navy.
It’s more a Royal Yacht than aircraft carrier.
It was a interesting idea for Thailand to buy a aircraft carrier when it has never really been a nation that goes on military adventures it’s problems are not of naval warfare situations more counter insurgency operations and deterring Cambodia at the border