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Naval Warfare

HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)


Conventionally-Powered Aircraft Carrier [ 1997 ]



Chakri Naruebet, of the modern Royal Thai Navy, is the smallest actively serving aircraft carrier anywhere in the world.



Authored By: JR Potts, AUS 173d AB and Dan Alex | Last Edited: 09/23/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
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The RTN (Royal Thai Navy) HMTS (His Majesty's Thai Ship) Chakri Naruebet (911) is Thailand's first and only aircraft carrier (and the first to be taken into service in Southeast Asia). She is also the smallest serving carrier anywhere in the world. The name "Chakri Naruebet" was given to the vessel by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and translates to "The Sovereign of the Chakri Dynasty." The design was a reduced-complexity version of the Spanish Principe de Asturiass aircraft carrier and constructed in Ferrol, Spain by shipbuilder Izar EN Bazan between 1994 - 1996. Both designs are based on the American "Sea Control Ship" (SCS) model.

The Royal Thai Navy had this fixed- and rotary-wing-supporting aircraft carrier built with a budget of seven billion Baht ($175 million USD) as the Royal Thai Family needed a new, high-technology ship to modernize its aging deep-water fleet - this amidst military growth amongst its regional rivals, particularly those in Malaysia and Indonesia. Chakri Naruebet was delivered to the Thai Navy in 1997 and became the flagship of the service and the figure head of the Royal family as its official yacht. Suitable state rooms were built into the design for the latter purpose as were quarters for family staff members.

The Chakri Naruebet's main task has been in patrolling and protecting Thailand's considerable coast line. The ship has been designed to cruise on diesel but can switch over to gas turbines for high-speed runs. This arrangement is known as "CODAG" ("COmbined Diesel And Gas"). When Typhoon Gay hit Thailand in 1989, the Royal Thai Navy - as the primary service responsible for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, found its ships and aircraft to be largely unsuitable for rough weather operations. Regardless, the carrier played a major role in Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance and SAR and was featured in training and disaster relief operations after the 2004 tsunami.

Main armament for the warship is comprised of 3 x French-made "Sadral" missile launchers (Mistral missiles) to deal with ranged threats. At least 2 x 0.50 cal heavy machine guns are carried for close-in threats and she is outfitted with a Hughes SPS-52C air search radar with E/F band. She also carries 4 x SRBOC decoy launchers and an SLQ-32 towed sonar array to deal with undersea threats. A pair of Kelvin-Hughes 1007 series systems offers navigational capabilities.

Of course the heart of any carrier's armament is its air wing. Up until 2006, Chakri Naruebet was assigned 9 x AV-8S "Matador" (Harrier) VTOL strike fighters - launched with assistance from a bow-mounted ski jump structure. Beyond this her air wing is a reduced load of 8 x Sikorsky H-60 "Knighthawk" / "Seahawk" navy medium-lift helicopters (a full complement of twenty can be handled - ten within the hangar spaces provided).

The first squadron of AV-8S Harrier's supplied reached over thirty years in service and spare parts were proving difficult to come by so deployment of these aircraft was reduced over time. Her original primary anti-aircraft missile systems were not installed and the vessel only went out to sea about one day a month due to costs in operating her. Most military observers consider the warship more of a Royal prestige symbol than anything else - taking away a vital military operation support amphibious warfare-capable carrier.

Her 600+ crew complement was broken down into 393 enlisted personnel with 146 aircrew led by 62 officers and, when applicable, four Royal Family members and their related staff. Her propulsion power is made up of 2 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbines of 22,125 horsepower with 2 x Bazan-MTU 16V1163 TB83 diesel units of 5,600 horsepower driving 2 x shafts under stern. Range is out to 10,000 nautical miles with speeds reaching just over 25 knots.

Since her introduction into service, Chakri Naruebet has been involved in several humanitarian relief actions within the region of Thailand. She allows the nation of Thailand to join the elite group faircraft carrier-supporting navies of the world led by the United States. Regional powers like South Korea and China each field one apiece, the former more suited for helicopter launching-retrieval operations.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
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Specifications



Service Year
1997

Origin
Thailand national flag graphic
Thailand

Status
COMMISSIONED
In Active Service.
Complement
605
PERSONNEL


Class
Chakri Naruebet-class
Number-in-Class
1
VESSELS
Ships-in-Class


HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)


National flag of Thailand Thailand
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Flag Ship / Capital Ship
Serving in the fleet Flag Ship role or Capital Ship in older warship designs / terminology.


Length
182.6 ft
55.66 m
Beam
22.5 ft
6.86 m
Draught
6.2 ft
1.89 m
Displacement
11,485
tons


Installed Power: 2 x GE LM2500 gas turbines developing 22,125 horsepower with 2 x Bazan-MTU 16V1163 TB83 diesel engines developing 5,600 horsepower to 2 x Shafts.
Surface Speed
26.0 kts
(29.9 mph)
Range
8,690 nm
(10,000 mi | 16,093 km)


kts = knots | mph = miles-per-hour | nm = nautical miles | mi = miles | km = kilometers

1 kts = 1.15 mph | 1 nm = 1.15 mi | 1 nm = 1.85 km
3 x Mistral surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile launchers
2 x 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun
Graphical image of an aircraft heavy machine gun
Graphical image of an air-to-air missile weapon


(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)
6 x AV-8S Harrier VTOL strike fighters (since retired - 2008).
6 x Sikorsky S-70B "Seahawk" medium-lift navy helicopters (or similar).
2 to 6 x Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters.


Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period
Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective naval campaigns / operations / periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 7
Image of the HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
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Image of the HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
Image from the Chinese Ministry of Defense.
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Image of the HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
4 / 7
Image of the HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
5 / 7
Image of the HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
6 / 7
Image of the HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
7 / 7
Image of the HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.


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