The 21st Cavalry Battalion, 6th Infantry Division, 2nd Army Area, Royal Thai Army held a ceremony to receive main battle tanks Type VT4, 5 vehicles, entered service on 28 September 2023.
Along with building inspection of high-tech training simulators for main battle tank training VT4 at Somdet Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulalok the Great Camp, Pho Sai Subdistrict, Si Somdet District, Roi Et Province, VT4 main battle tanks are listed as being procured in Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3, a total of 30 vehicles are already in service.
In the latest Phase 4, 5 vehicles of the 21st Cavalry Battalion, 21st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, have a total of 35 vehicles of main battle tank VT4, parallel to 6th Cavalry Battalion 6th Cavalry Regiment 3rd Cavalry Division, 6th Cavalry Division, 6th Battalion, 3rd Cavalry Division which should have received 35 VT4s as well.
Before that, on September 13, 2023, the Weapons Subject Section, Education Division, Cavalry School, Cavalry Center at Adisorn Camp in Saraburi Province had tested the propulsion system of the main battle tank, Thanon Lak 60 VT4 and the weapon system consists of a 125mm smooth-bore tank cannon that fires armor-piercing shells stabilized with a tail missile (APFSDS-T: Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot-Tracer), a missile anti-tank grenade (HEAT- T: High-Explosive Anti-Tank-Tracer) and HE-T: High Explosive-Tracer, 12.7x108mm QJC 88 anti-aircraft gun on a remote weapon station turret, Type 86 coaxial machine gun, 7.62x54R mm, and DTF85A smoke grenade launcher. 76mm supplied with new VT4 main battle tanks.
China North Industries Corporation (Norinco), a state-owned arms manufacturer of the People's Republic of China, received a contract to build VT4 main battle tank for the Royal Thai Army in a four-phase order:
-Phase 1, 28 vehicles in 2016 which delivered the first set of vehicles in 2017,
-Phase 2, 10 vehicles plus 1 maintenance vehicle in 2017,
-Phase 3, 14 vehicles in 2018, and
-Phase 4, 10 cars in 2019,
Totaling 62 cars including the VS43 ARV (Armoured Recovery Vehicle).
VT4 Tank Simulator (photo : Royal Thai Army)
The actual number of vehicles for the two battalions the 6th Cavalry Battalion and the 21st Cavalry Battalion Including the vehicles in the training section of the Cavalry Center should total more than 70+ vehicles.
Procurement of main battle tanks, VT4, and VN1 8x8 wheeled armored vehicles for the Royal Thai Army Cavalry should include the establishment of a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) center in Thailand as well, but there has been no progress at all.
(AAG)