Anutin to Fly F-16 During Border Security Mission

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is scheduled to fly in a Royal Thai Air Force F-16 fighter jet during a visit to Wing 1 in Nakhon Ratchasima on August 14. The visit will include briefings on border security and an inspection of military equipment. Anutin, who also chairs the National Security Council (NSC), will receive operational briefings on the air force’s missions, the security situation along the border, ongoing operations related to border unrest, and key research and development projects. The prime minister will travel from Wing 6 in Bangkok to Wing 1 by Royal Thai Air Force aircraft. He will then don a G-suit before boarding a two-seat F-16 fighter aircraft based at Wing 1 for a sortie departing from and returning to the airbase in Nakhon Ratchasima. If the flight proceeds as planned, Anutin will become the second Thai prime minister to fly in a two-seat F-16. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was the first to participate in such a flight, occupying the rear seat as a passenger. Following the flight, the air force will hold a ceremony marking the successful completion of the mission, followed by a group photograph. Anutin, in his capacity as NSC chairman, is also scheduled to deliver remarks to personnel at Wing 1 and inspect military equipment.