| Unit Name: | Royal Thai Naval Air Division |
| Native Name: | Thai: กองบินทหารเรือ |
| Dates: | 7 December 1926 |
| Type: | Naval aviation |
| Size: | 1,200 active personnel [1] Approx. 49+ aircraft[2] |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Roundel |
| Anniversaries: | 7 December |
The Royal Thai Naval Air Division or RTNAD (Thai: กองบินทหารเรือ) is the Naval aviation of the Royal Thai Navy. The division was officially established on 7 December 1926.[3] The RTNAD has two air wings and one Flying Unit of HTMS Chakri Naruebet, operating 23 fixed-wing aircraft and 26 helicopters[2] from U-Tapao, Songkhla, and Phuket. The First Royal Thai Navy wing has three squadrons; the Second Royal Thai Navy wing has three squadrons and another wing for HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit.
The establishment Royal Thai Naval Air Division began in 1921, when the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse gave an opinion to the Naval Command Council of Ministry of the Navy on 23 November 1921.[3] The Naval Aviation Division was expedient to set up an air fleet using Sattahip as a base with 2 seaplanes. The Naval Command Council approved this proposal on 7 December 1926.[3]
Later, the Royal Thai Naval Air Division has more aircraft living with Royal Thai Air Force Place there are some inconveniences so in 1957, the Navy built the Airport coming up at Ban Utapao, Rayong Province by using the navy budget during construction, the United States offered construction assistance and requested to use some parts of U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in return.
The headquarters of Royal Thai Naval Air Division has 10 commanding units as follows:[4]
Royal Thai Naval Air Division is a combat unit under commissioned of Royal Thai Fleet. The aviation division is divided into 6 regiments, corresponding to one additional command unit namely; Wing 1 Regiment, Wing 2 Regiment, Air Operations Control Regiment, The Flight Station Regiment, Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Center Regiment, Security Regiment and one additional command unit of HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit.[4]
| Squadron | Status | Role | Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing 1 | |||||
| 101 | Active | ||||
| 102 | Active | ||||
| 103 | Active | ||||
| 104 | Active | ||||
| Wing 2 | |||||
| 201 | Active | ||||
| 202 | Active | ||||
| 203 | Active | ||||
| HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit | |||||
| 1 | Inactive | ||||
| 2 | Active | ||||
The following squadrons are currently active with the Royal Thai Naval Division.[6]
| Squadron | Equipment | Wing | RTAF Base | Notes |
| 101 Naval Air Squadron | Dornier 228 | Naval Air Wing 1 | U-Tapao | |
| 102 Naval Air Squadron | Fokker F27 | Naval Air Wing 1 | U-Tapao | |
| 103 Naval Air Squadron | Cessna 337 Super Skymaster | Naval Air Wing 1 | U-Tapao | |
| 104 Naval Air Squadron | Schiebel Camcopter S-100, Aeronautics Defense Orbiter | Naval Air Wing 1 | U-Tapao | |
| 201 Naval Air Squadron | Fokker F27, Embraer ERJ-135LR | Naval Air Wing 2 | U-Tapao | |
| 202 Naval Air Squadron | Bell 212, Eurocopter EC145 | Naval Air Wing 2 | U-Tapao | |
| 203 Naval Air Squadron | Sikorsky S-76, Super Lynx 300 | Naval Air Wing 2 | U-Tapao | |
| 1 HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Squadron | - | HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit | U-Tapao | |
| 2 HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Squadron | SH-70B Seahawk, MH-60S Knighthawk | HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit | U-Tapao | |
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Quantity | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-wing aircraft | |||||
| Anti-submarine warfare, Military transport | 2 MK400 3 MK200 | ||||
| Dornier 228 | Search and rescue | 7 | Also used in Royal Rain Project. | ||
| NAX seaplane | Search and rescue | 4 | Serial no.s NAX-01 to NAX-04, locally built by Naval Aircraft Experimental.[7] | ||
| Maritime patrol aircraft | (+3) | 3 on order | |||
| Embraer ERJ-135LR | VIP transport aircraft | 2 | |||
| Cessna 337 Super Skymaster | FAC aircraft | 4 H-SP 3 SP 2 G | |||
| Helicopter | |||||
| Search and rescue, Military transport | 5 | ||||
| WestlandSuper Lynx 300 | 2 | ||||
| Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk | 6 | HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit. | |||
| Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk | Military transport | 2 | HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit. | ||
| 5 | |||||
| Bell UH-1N Twin Huey | Military transport | 7 | |||
| Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | |||||
| Aeronautics Orbiter 3B | Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | In use since 2020.[8] | ||
| Elbit Hermes 900 | Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | Ordered in 2022. | ||
| Aeronautics Defense Dominator | Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | [Documented by a few sources, not yet seen]. | ||
| Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack | Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | [Documented by a few sources, not yet seen]. | ||
| DTI U-1 'Sky Scout' |  Thailand | Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | It is unknown whether they are only in the army service. (In use since 2017.) | |
| DTI D-Eyes 02 | Thailand | Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | It is unknown whether they are only in the army service. (In use since 2017.) | |
| VTOL Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | |||||
| TOP Falcon-V | Thailand | VTOL Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | In use since 2017. | |
| Narai 3.0 | Thailand | VTOL Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | In use since 2018. (In use with the Navy and Armed Forces HQ). | |
| Schiebel Camcopter S-100 | VTOL Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | In use since 2020. | ||
| NRDO MARCUS-B | Thailand | VTOL Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Unknown | In use since 2020. (For use on board the Chakri Naruebet aircraft carrier). | |
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Service | Quantity | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929-1948 | 2 | Built locally. | ||||
| 1938-1946 | 6 | |||||
| 1938-1946 | 27 | |||||
| 1939-1945+ | 6 | Three aircraft ordered in 1939 and three in 1941. | ||||
| 1942-1945 | 3 | |||||
| 1948-1951 | 3 | |||||
| 1949-1951 | 2 | |||||
| 1951-1951 | 12 | 10 F Mk. 1 and 2 T Mk. 2 | ||||
| 1951-1951 | 30 | |||||
| 1951-1955 | 6 | |||||
| 1962-1981 | 3 | |||||
| 1966-1999 | 12 | |||||
| 1968-1997 | 8 | |||||
| 1974-1997 | 8 | |||||
| 1975-?? | 4 | |||||
| 1978-1999 | 13 | |||||
| 1978-2017 | 2 | |||||
| 1984-2015 | 5 | |||||
| 1987-2010 | 5 | |||||
| Attack | 1995-2007 | 21 | All airframes stored. | |||
| 1996-2014 | 5 | Second-hand but modernized before delivery | ||||
| 1997-2006 | 9 | Second hand from the Spanish NavySpanish Navy Air Arm Used on HTMS Chakri Naruebet. |
See main article: Military ranks of the Thai armed forces.
| Equivalent NATO Code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | Cadet Officer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officer ranks | ||||||||||||
| จอมพลเรือ | พลเรือเอก | พลเรือโท | พลเรือตรี | พลเรือจัตวา1 | นาวาเอก | นาวาโท | นาวาตรี | เรือเอก | เรือโท | เรือตรี | นักเรียนนายเรือ | |
| Admiral of the Fleet | Admiral | Vice Admiral | Rear Admiral | Commodore or Rear Admiral (lower half)1 | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant Commander | Lieutenant | Lieutenant Junior Grade | Sub Lieutenant | Midshipman | |
| ||||||||||||
| Equivalent NATO Code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enlisted ranks | No insignia | |||||||
| พันจ่าเอกพิเศษ | พันจ่าเอก | พันจ่าโท | พันจ่าตรี | จ่าเอก | จ่าโท | จ่าตรี | พลทหาร | |
| Master Chief Petty Officer | Senior Chief Petty Officer | Chief Petty Officer | Petty Officer 1st class | Petty Officer 2nd Class | Petty Officer 3rd Class | Seaman | Seaman apprentice | |