The Thai cabinet has approved the purchase of Gripen E/F fighters worth 19.5 billion baht ($600 million) from Saab AB, according to Prapas Sornchaidee, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Air Force.
In June this year, the Thai Air Force announced a plan to buy 12 fighter jets within 10 years.
Thai Air Force Commander Panpakdee Pattanakul is expected to sign a buy-sell agreement with Saab AB on August 25.
Gripen fighters will replace the old US-made F-16 squadron used by the Thai Air Force.
The F-16 was deployed by Thailand in a five-day border war with Cambodia.
The Thailand - Cambodia conflict has killed 40 people and forced hundreds of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to evacuate.
The two countries have reached a ceasefire and senior security officials are currently negotiating measures to further reduce tensions.
The purchase of Gripen fighters comes two years after the US refused to sell the F-35A stealth fighter to Thailand, citing the long waiting time and requiring large investments in infrastructure and training.
The US designated Thailand a major non- NATO ally in 2003. Thailand is one of the two US allies in Southeast Asia, along with the Philippines.
During this approval, the Thai cabinet also approved changes to the 2017 agreement to purchase subspace with China, allowing the use of Chinese-made engines instead of German engines as stated in the original contract. The construction period of the Yuan-class S26T Submarine has also been extended by 1,217 days.
The Submarine that Thailand ordered was built by China Shipbuilding & Offshore International. This Submarine will now be equipped with a CHD620 diesel engine. Germany has blocked exports of the MTU396 engine to China due to the European Union's arms embargo on China.
Thailand initially agreed to buy three Chinese subs for 36 billion baht (about $1.01 billion) to protect the country's underwater resources. The delivery is expected to take place within 5-6 years.
However, in 2020, Bangkok postponed the purchase of second and third Submarines due to public backlash on defense spending during the pandemic and concerns about the suitability of Submarine in Thailand's shallow waters.
