Thailand Defense Ministry Cries Off German Subs

21.09.2011 Thai defense minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa slapped a ban on procurement of German second-hand submarines, reports Bangkok Post. Earlier on, Royal Thai Navy declared about plans to purchase six Project 206A submarines for THB 7.5 bln ($246.1 mln). According to Sasiprapa, Navy command should revise this project and assess its profitability more thoroughly.

Talks on procurement of subs decommissioned from German Navy in 2010 started in Apr 2011. During the negotiations, Germany said its offer for Thailand would be valid till Sept 30. As for Sasiprapa, even if Germany refuses to extend the deadline, Thai Navy could consider offers of other countries.

On June 1, 2020 Germany decommissioned six Project 206A submarines which was 60% of national submarine fleet. Those subs had served in German Navy for 35 years, and were initially planned to be written-off in 2011-2015. However, due to defense budget deficit it was decided to decommission the subs earlier.

Thailand also showed interest in Spanish Agosta-class submarines. They are operated by Spanish Navy since 80's. Totally, Spain plans to decommission and sell four Agosta-class subs – Galerna, Siroco, Mistral, and Tramontana. Potential customer must pay additional $25 mln to repair and upgrade each of them.