While the Royal Thai Air Force was receiving the first part delivery of its Gripen Fighters, six Thai pilots arrived in Sweden to receive their Gripen training. This is the second group of Thai pilots to be trained at Skaraborg Wing, F 7, in Sweden. For the next six months, they will combine theory classes with training flights in the simulator and Gripen.
"We are talking about experienced F-16 pilots from the Royal Thai Air Force so we expect the training to be straightforward," says Captain Anders Hjärp.
The first group of Thai pilots were trained in 2010. That training course lasted one year, partly due to the pilots also being trained to become instructors. They also received training in the roles of both air defence and ground targets. This time however, the pilots will not become instructors. They will be trained in the air defence role, but not as instructors. This means that the training time is halved.
