Sattahip, Chonburi Province, Thailand
HTMS Chakri Naruebet (Thai: จักรีนฤเบศร, meaning "In honour of the Chakri
Dynasty"[1]) is the flagship of
the Royal Thai Navy (RTN),
and Thailand's first and only aircraft carrier though the RTN
refers to her as
an "Offshore Patrol Helicopter Carrier". Based
on the Spanish Navy's Príncipe de Asturias design and
constructed by Spanish shipbuilder Bazán, Chakri Naruebet was
ordered in 1992, launched in 1996,
and commissioned into the RTN in 1997.
The aircraft carrier is designed to
operate an air group of V/STOL fighter
aircraft and helicopters, and is fitted with a ski-jump. Initial
intentions were to operate a mixed air group of Matador V/STOL aircraft and Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.
However, by 1999, only one Matador was operationa, and the entire V/STOL fleet
was removed from service in 2006. Although Chakri Naruebet was
intended for patrols and force projection in Thai waters, a lack of funding
brought on by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis meant the carrier has
spent much of her career docked at the Sattahip naval base.
Chakri Naruebet has been deployed on
several disaster relief operations, including in the aftermath of
the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and in response to separate
flooding incidents in late 2010 and early 2011. Other
than disaster relief, the carrier's few other departures from port are for a
single training day per month, and transportation of the Royal Family of
Thailand, leading to claims by some naval commentators that the ship is merely
an oversized royal yacht.
Name:
|
HTMS Chakri Naruebet
|
Namesake:
|
"In honour of the Chakri Dynasty"
|
Ordered:
|
27 March 1992
|
Builder:
|
|
Cost:
|
US$336 million
|
Laid down:
|
12 July 1994
|
Launched:
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20 January 1996
|
Commissioned:
|
27 March 1997
|
Homeport:
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Sattahip
|
Identification:
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CVH-911
|
Motto:
|
Rule The Sky, Rule The Sea, Chakri
Naruebet. (ครองเวหา
ครองนที จักรีนฤเบศร)
|
Status:
|
in active service, as of
2015 |
Noted : Visited only Thai people
Foreign Tourists must apply for premission;
