Thai air force plans $1 bln shopping spree

BANGKOK, July 17 (Reuters) Thailand's air force wants to splash out 1 billion dollars on fighter jets and helicopters over the next five years, air force chief Chalit Pukphasuk said today.

The spending spree, denied for five years under deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is likely to raise further questions about the motives of the military chiefs who launched last year's coup.

''Our first priority is the fighter jets,'' Chalit told Reuters in an interview, saying the Royal Thai Air Force had to replace one of its two 16-jet fleets of F-5E fighters that have been in service for more than four decades.

The jets are due to be decommissioned in 2011.

Chalit declined to confirm Thai newspaper reports that Sweden's Gripen had emerged as favourite, saying the decision had not been made by the air force's selection panel.

''I can't say for now what exactly we want to buy because it depends on our needs and the willingness of the seller,'' he said.

But he said he would not buy Russia's MiG-29, which are already in service in neighbouring Myanmar and Malaysia.

''You wouldn't want a fighter jet that your neighbours have more experience on. You would want the one that is a little bit more advanced than what your neighbours have,'' he said.

Other models mentioned are Russia's Sukhoi Su-30, France's Rafael and the US-made F-16.

The air force's request for a new fighter fleet had been talked about since Thaksin came to power in 2001, but never got off the ground.

Thaksin once pushed for Sweden or Russia to buy unwanted frozen chicken from Thailand in return for jets, but the barter trade idea fell through.

Since the coup last September, Thailand's army-appointed government has approved a 66 per cent increase in military spending, sparking criticism of the generals who launched what was the country's 18 putsch in 75 years of on-off democracy.

REUTERS SKB MIR KP1721