Air Chief Marshal Sakesan Kantha recounts Queen Suthida’s August 2025 visit and the royal amulets presented to air force personnel.
According to the air chief, Queen Suthida's first solo Gripen flight on October 8 was an invitation intended to encourage and boost the morale of air force personnel.
The flight also served to honor the Queen's 48th birthday and commemorate the air force's upcoming 90th anniversary.
The air chief linked this to a past event in 2025, where the Queen's support for troops after border clashes was described as an "immensely valuable boost to morale" that preceded a military victory.
Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana’s first solo Gripen flight on October 8 followed an air force invitation intended to honour her 48th birthday and encourage air force personnel, Royal Thai Air Force commander-in-chief Air Chief Marshal Sakesan Kantha said on October 12.
ACM Sakesan outlined the background to the flight while presenting his command priorities for 2027–2028 at the Chaloem Akat conference room of the Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy in Muak Lek district, Saraburi.
Invitation to fly at Wing 7
Her Majesty completed her first solo Gripen training flight at Wing 7 in Phun Phin district, Surat Thani, on October 8, 2026.
ACM Sakesan said the invitation marked the Queen’s fourth-cycle, or 48th, birthday on June 3, 2026, and was also linked to the air force’s forthcoming 90th anniversary in 2027. Encouraging air force personnel was another purpose of the invitation.
Royal audience after the 2025 border clashes
ACM Sakesan recalled that the Queen made a private visit and requested an audience with air force personnel on August 15, 2025, less than a month after the first round of clashes with Cambodia on July 24–28 that year.
Then air force commander-in-chief Air Chief Marshal Punpakdee Pattanakul led representatives of the personnel into the royal audience, according to ACM Sakesan.
During the audience, Her Majesty presented Phra Phalang Phaendin amulets commissioned by His Majesty the King to air force personnel who had carried out national defence missions, ACM Sakesan said.
ACM Sakesan, who was an assistant commander-in-chief at the time, recalled receiving the amulets and distributing them to combat personnel and those supporting their operations. Referring to a photograph, ACM Sakesan identified the purple boxes as the containers holding the royal gifts.
ACM Sakesan said a second round of fighting followed a few months after the August audience and described its outcome as a Thai victory over Cambodia.
“A few months later, there was a second round of fighting, and we achieved victory. This was an immensely valuable boost to morale,” ACM Sakesan said, expressing gratitude for the royal support.
“The armed forces will fight to the death when we have an institution that gives us such encouragement,” ACM Sakesan said.
ACM Sakesan urged personnel to uphold and protect the nation, religion and monarchy. Describing the monarchy as an institution without equal, ACM Sakesan said it had helped restore, build and develop the country over more than 800 years of Thai history, while encouraging service personnel to fight in its defence and achieve victory.
