The Royal Thai Air Force scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak province yesterday, after an unidentified aircraft was detected on radar, according to Air Force spokesperson Air Marshal Prapas Sornjaidee.
“At about 10.51am, the Air Force’s radar detected an unidentified aircraft along the border in Phop Phra district of Tak province, flying at an altitude of 4,000–5,000 feet,” the spokesperson said.
The Air Operations Control Command ordered two F-16s, from Wing 4 in Nakhon Sawan’s Ban Takli district, to intercept and inspect the unidentified aircraft, with the Thai fighters flying at an altitude of about 7,000 feet.
By the time they arrived at the location, the unidentified potential intruder had, however, already left the area and disappeared from radar.
The F-16s returned to base at 12.14pm, Prapas said.
It was reported later that the aircraft was spotted when it was about 1.8km from the border and that it could possibly have been an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) or drone.
