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Published on August 1, 2007

The Royal Thai Army is planning to fly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the deep South in the near future.

A UAV is an aircraft capable of flying on its own or by remote control. The aircraft's key strategic advantage is that it can fly in dangerous circumstances. If it crashes or is lost, there is no subsequent death, injury or capture of crew.

The main missions for UAVs will be to conduct reconnaissance searches and artillery adjustment.

"The UAV is going to help a lot. It will be better than installing closed-circuit television systems all over the area," said Colonel Jakrawut Somapi, commander of the 72nd Artillery Brigade.

 "UAVs are like flying robots. They have great advantages and reduce constraints," he said.

Jakrawut also played a role in the UAV development project. The Thailand Research Fund (TRF) and the Defence Ministry's Office of Research and Development are among the key agencies behind the project, from which the Artillery Division has already ordered 10 half-scale UAVs.

The TRF's deputy director, Assoc Professor Dr Suthira Prasertsan, said the project had already handed over two half-scale UAVs.

"We will hand over eight others in October," he said.

Suthira said the purchases of half-scale UAVs should save the division at least Bt600 million. The half-scale type, which can be used for flight training, can fly at a speed of 700 knots and at an altitude of about 2,000 metres.

Suthira said the project's higher-performance, full-scale UAV was still under development.

"We will fully test the system next month," he said.

The project's engineer, Sittichok Sittiracha, said his team had based their UAV on the Searcher Mark I UAV that Thailand bought from Israel 10 years ago.

"Now, we have developed more modern technology to use with our vehicles," he said.

He added that the communication system between the project's new UAV and its controllers on the ground had been improved. The Thai UAV is also smaller, with a wing span of less than seven metres.

Sittichok said the production cost of a half-scale UAV was between Bt300,000 and Bt400,000. If imported, a similar vehicle would cost Bt1.2 million.

He said the UAV project also boasted a flight-control system which allowed for the inclusion of updated software for new missions.

With the proven efficiency of the Thai UAV, the armed forces and the TRF are now interested in producing the model for commercial purposes.

Jakrawut said the UAV could help in aerial mapping, filming, news reporting and pollution surveying.

"They can be used for training pilots and, through development, for some specific jobs," he added.

Suthira believes the UAV development project will be good for the country's national security and economic prospects.

In a statement, the TRF said the UAV could be used to track down runaway criminal suspects, drug traffickers, illegal immigrants and suspicious vehicles.

In addition, it could be of great use in rescue operations and forest-fire extinguishing; farmland, road and railway surveying; weather forecasting; and communications relaying.

Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong

The Nation