Royal Thai Army

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Royal Thai army soldier with an M16A2 rifle during maneuvers in 2000

The Royal Thai Army is the army of Thailand. It is the oldest and largest of Thailand's military branches. The army was formed in 1874, partly as a response to new security threats following the Bowring Treaty with Britain, which opened up the country for international trade.

1 Units
2 Weapons
3 Combat vehicles
4 Artillery
5 Non-combat vehicles
6 UAV
7 Coup d'etat
8 See also
9 Reference

[edit] Units

The Royal Thai Army is divided into 4 regional army commands:

First Army - headquartered in Bangkok and is responsible for the country's western and central provinces including the capital city.
- 1st, 2nd, 9th and 11th infantry divisions, and 1st Development division.
Second Army - headquarters is in Nakhon Ratchasima and is responsible fo the northeastern quadrant and its regional .
- 3rd, 6th and 12th infantry divisions, and 2nd development division.
Third Army with its headquarters in Phitsanulok, responsible for the northern and northwestern parts of the kingdom.
- 4th infantry division, 1st armor division, and 3rd development division.
Fourth Army is based in southern Thailand with its headquarters in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
- 5th infantry division, and the 4th development division.

Altogether the army is organized into 7 infantry divisions (including 5 tank battalions), 1 armored division, 1 cavalry division (with an armour capability), 8 independent infantry battalions, 2 special forces divisions trained and geared for small unit special and airborne operations, 1 field artillery division, and 1 air defense artillery division. 3 airmobile companies provided the ground force units with battlefield support.

[edit] Weapons

M-16 rifle
M72 LAW Light Anti-tank Weapon
M47 Dragon Anti-Tank Guided Missile
RPG-2/7 Anti-Tank Rocket

[edit] Combat vehicles

M-60A3 and M-48A5- medium tanks (178 and 105)
Type 69-II - Main battle tank - upgrade of the Type 59 which is a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-55 medium tank (50+)
Stingray - Light Tanks (106)
FV101 Scorpion CVR(T) - light tank (154)
M41 Walker Bulldog - Light Tank (200)
M901A3 Improved TOW Vehicle (18)
Commando V-150 - armored vehicle
M113A1/A3 - armored personnel carrier, ambulance vehicles, maintenance recovery vehicle and M577A3 command posts (340)
LAV-150 Commando (M706)- armored personnel carrier (138)
Condor (APC) - armored personnel carrier (18)
YW 531 H / Type-85 - armored personnel carrier (450)
Rasit - armored reconnaissance radar vehicle

[edit] Artillery

Type 85 - 130 mm MRLS (60)
Type 83 - 122 mm MRLS
M-109A2 - 155 mm self-propelled howitzer (20) supported by 20 M992 field artillery ammunition support vehicles
GHN-45A1 - 155 mm towed howitzer(42)
Soltam M-71 - 155 mm towed howitzer(32)
M198 - 155 mm towed howitzer (62)
M114 - 155 mm towed howitzer (56)
Type-59-1 - 130 mm field gun (15)
Giat LG1 MkII - 105 mm (24)
M101 - 105 mm towed Light Howitzer upgraded with the LG1 Mk2's barrel (285)
M102 - 105 mm towed Light Howitzer (12)
M618A2 - 105 mm towed Howitzer (32)
Type-59 - Chinese copy of the S-60 towed 57 mm anti-aircraft gun (24)
Bofors L40/70 - 40 mm anti-aircraft gun (48)
Type 74 - improved variant of the Type 65 twin-barrel 37 mm anti-aircraft gun (122)
M163 VADS Vulcan self-propelled 20 mm air defense system (24)
M167 VADS Vulcan towed 20 mm air defense system (24)