China and Thailand Conclude ‘Falcon Strike’ Drills After PLA Dispatches Elite J-10C Fighters

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and its Thai counterpart have concluded the Falcon Strike military drills, the latest in a series of joint Air Force drills between the two countries. Sino-Thai defence cooperation has improved considerably in recent years, and the Cold War era Western client has increasingly turned to Chinese arms for both its Navy and its ground forces as ties with the United States have declined. From six Chinese Type 052T and Type 053HT Class frigates to new VT-4 battle tanks, Thailand’s armed forces are increasingly reliant on Chinese hardware, and joint Air Force drills are likely to increase interoperability between the two fleets.

Thailand’s Swedish Gripen and American F-16 single engine fourth generation light fighters trained alongside Chinese J-10C jets - new ‘4++ generation’ platforms of a similar weight range. The J-10 and J-7 are currently the only light fighter classes deployed by the PLA, with the large majority of its fleet comprised of heavyweight jets such as the J-20 and J-11, but due to the benefits of lower operational costs many smaller states including Thailand strongly favour lighter platforms. The PLA also dispatched a KJ-500 airborne early warning platform, which provides unique capabilities which Thailand’s armed forces currently lack. The J-10C is the most advanced Chinese fighter known to have participated in military exercises overseas, and entered service in April 2018. The platform is extremely light and manoeuvrable making greater use of composite materials, and deploys an active electronically scanned array radar, thrust vectoring engines and new long range PL-15 air to air missiles. While the PLA has already had ample opportunities to study the F-16 and train alongside it since the 1980s through its defence ties with Pakistan, the Falcon Strike drills can serve to cement ties with Thailand while also potentially marketing the J-10C and other next generation Chinese jets integrating similar technologies to Bangkok and other potential Southeast Asian clients.