Thai Air Force to send DA42 aircraft for patrolling in restive South

BANGKOK, October 3 (TNA) - The Royal Thai Air Force will send a four-seat, twin engine, propeller-driven plane, named Diamond DA42 Twin Star (DA 42), to the far South by the end of this year to support aerial patrol tasks of security authorities in the violence-plagued Thai deep South. Thailand's New Air Force Commander-in-Chief Air Chief Marshal Prajin Jantong told journalists on Tuesday that the DA 42 aircraft will be equipped with two special thermal and digital optic cameras to facilitate the aerial patrols in the country's southernmost region, in support of those of ground officers. According to the newly-appointed air force chief, the DA 42 aircraft will be, as previously, operated by a squad of officers now stationed in Taklee district of Nakhon Sawan province in the Lower Thai North who are now preparing themselves for the new mission and checking the readiness of the aircraft and all its equipment. The new air force chief said that the DA 42 aircraft will then be either stationed in Narathiwat, or Pattani or Songkhla. The Royal Thai Air Force has had a C130 and two AU23 planes, as well as some helicopters stationed in southern border region so far to support military operations. (TNA)