Songkhla residents thrilled by Gripen jet road landing and take-off

Songkhla residents gathered on Wednesday morning to watch a Gripen fighter jet land and take off from a highway as part of a rehearsal for an official event. The test is part of the RTAF's decision-making process before purchasing new Gripen jets.

Residents of Songkhla gathered in large numbers along the roadsides of a highway in this southern province on Wednesday morning to watch a Gripen fighter jet land and take off from the road.

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) announced that the road landing and take-off by one of its Gripen jets would take place between 10 am and 11 am on Highway No. 4287 in Tambon Chalung, Songkhla's Hat Yai district.

The event was a rehearsal for the official event, which will take place on Thursday, as part of the RTAF's decision-making process before officially ordering the purchase of a new fleet of Gripen jets from Sweden.

Police closed the highway from Kuan Lung Intersection to Chamuang Intersection for the rehearsal on Wednesday morning.

On Thursday, the same section of the road will be closed from 10 am to 11 am for the official event, police said.Police and Provincial Administration Department officials were deployed to ensure security along the roadsides during the rehearsal on Wednesday morning.

Thung Sao police station announced that the audience could view the landing and take-off event from a football field or from a plot of land beside the police station.

Earlier, the RTAF announced that it had initially preferred Gripen over F-16 fighter jets. However, before making a final decision on purchasing a new fleet by mid-year, the RTAF would conduct a test to confirm Saab AB's claim that Gripen jets could land and take off from a road.

Saab claimed that Gripen would require only 800 metres of road to take off or land in the event of an attack on an airport.

(2025/02/26-00:00)