Defence Minister Sutin plans made-in-Thailand army

Currently, the Thai military purchases domestically produced weapons and equipment at a cost of less than 1 billion baht per year, compared with the approximately 10 billion baht spent on purchases from abroad.

However, Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang has announced a policy aimed at driving the domestic defence industry. This transformation involves turning the ministry from a spender into a revenue generator, creating jobs and opportunities through the advancement of the Defence Technology Institute (DTI) in collaboration with the private sector.

He has paved the way for the Council of Defence to approve amendments to several laws, introducing short-term measures to promote private-sector involvement in the defence industry. These measures are expected to be completed this year.

For instance, if the military procures weapons and equipment in the four target groups of the pilot project, they must buy from Thai manufacturers, with at least 30% produced domestically. This requirement will be enforced starting from the budget preparation for the fiscal year 2026 onwards.

The four pilot projects consist of:

Vehicles for security or armoured vehicles, such as the four-wheel-drive vehicles from Chaiseri Metal & Rubber Co.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in small, medium, or large sizes.
Naval combat systems (offshore patrol vessels).
Personal firearms and ammunition.

Krit Koolhiran, assistant manager of Chaiseri, is confident in the company's long-standing experience in this field. He said that when it comes to vehicles, Chaiseri can handle all platforms, from small to large sizes, and the company is certainly capable of meeting the 30% domestic production requirement.

Chaiseri Metal & Rubber Co Ltd, founded by Nopparat Koolhiran, also known as "Madame Tank", has been a partner of the Thai military for more than 56 years. 

"The military does not need to purchase domestically if the products are subpar. However, if foreign products are to be bought, they should be tested to prove they are superior to domestic ones,” Krit said. “This approach would foster competition and encourage local companies to improve. 

“Chaiseri, for instance, does not solely aim to sell to the domestic military but also to foreign militaries. Therefore, we already focus on producing high-quality products.

"Although the military has improved in many ways, we must acknowledge that their purchases are still not substantial. We may need to build confidence, as the military might view us as still being relatively new." 

Additionally, he suggested that the Ministry of Defence should revise the process for specifying the vehicles the military requires. If a project is approved, it should be initiated immediately without waiting for the budget, allowing domestic companies to start working right away. 

In the past, even if a project was approved, the military had to wait for the budget before creating specifications and making purchases. This delay has hindered domestic companies from designing and developing in time.

There are also issues related to arms control laws, such as weapon systems. For instance, vehicles from Chaiseri do not have any mounted guns because of  legal restrictions. This limitation hampers further development by the manufacturers. 

Krit emphasised the need for legal amendments in this area, as without the ability to install firearms, domestic companies cannot continue their development efforts effectively.

Meanwhile, Sutin said that from now on, any weapons and equipment that can be produced domestically must be purchased from within the country. This policy will be implemented gradually, starting at 30%, then increasing to 40%, and eventually 50%. 

He also instructed officials to review past Cabinet resolutions and Defence Council decisions, which had outlined these requirements long ago but were not seriously enforced. He believes it is time to take concrete action on this matter.

Currently, the Defence Ministry is not only expediting the policy for the military to purchase weapons and equipment that Thai companies can produce domestically, but also preparing to revamp the procurement system. 

Instead of each branch of the military making individual purchases, the plan is to shift to a package procurement system for the three branches through a large committee that will review and decide on the purchases based on the proposals from the branches.

This committee is expected to be chaired by the minister of defence, with the military branch commanders as members. This restructuring is in progress.