Thailand’s Queen Suthida has flown solo in a Gripen fighter for the first time, making her the country’s first female Gripen pilot.
Revealed on Oct. 8, 2026, by the Royal Household, this flight marks the culmination of her conversion course onto the Gripen C which the Queen undertook after being invited by the Royal Thai Air Force. The flight took place on Oct. 8 with King Maha Vajiralongkorn present, himself a qualified pilot on the Northrop F-5, Lockheed Martin F-16 and the Boeing 737-400.
Also present for the flight was Commander-in-Chief of the RTAF, Air Chief Marshal Sakesan Kantha, and the Commander of Wing 7, Air Colonel Phasin Sombatthavee.
The queen took off in a single-seat Gripen from Surat Thani air base, which is home to 701 Squadron “Shark”, flying eleven SAAB JAS 39 C/D Gripen fighter aircraft, and 702 Squadron, which operates the nation’s two Saab 340 airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C). Interestingly, the aircraft featured a special tail which was painted to celebrate the 15 years of Gripen service in the RTAF earlier this year.
Reportedly, after a short briefing on the flight plan, the Queen carried out a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft before taxiing to runway 22 for takeoff. She flew for 41 minutes, accompanied by two Gripens.
After she landed, the King handed the Queen a bouquet and pinned a Golden Gripen Order patch on her left arm, which reports said made her Thailand’s first female Gripen pilot. The Gripen Order patch is a gold-embroidered insignia awarded to those who have successfully completed a solo flight with the Gripen fighter aircraft in the RTAF.
🇹🇭 Thanks to Queen Suthida flying #Gripen solo we also received new video of RTAF 403 / 70107.
A full set of #shark teeth🦈 Need to see BK 27 firing..
Full video (takeoff to landing) – via The Nation / RTAF https://t.co/X8xKwXqRsL https://t.co/gj3NiLHntt
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) October 9, 2026
The solo flight marks the end of the RTAF’s standard Gripen pilot conversion syllabus, which included classroom studies of 45 academic and emergency-procedure subjects between June and July 2026, followed by 20 simulator sorties. The Queen then progressed to flying the two-seater JAS 39D Gripen along with an instructor.
She accumulated approximately 10 hours of flight time in the two seater before transitioning to the single-seat version of the aircraft for this flight. It is unclear if the Queen will continue the training course to complete the most advanced phases, which include the combat employment of the aircraft.
🇹🇭 VIDEO: Her Majesty Queen Suthida conducting her first solo flight in Saab #Gripen C.
#RTAF Wing 7, Surat Thani, October 8th.
📷RTAF #military #aviation https://t.co/s8y5WYgFk7
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) October 8, 2026
Queen Suthida had a career as a flight attendant with Thai Airways and JALways, before she joined the Thai military in 2010. Here she began flying using a T-41D aircraft, a military version of the Cessna 172, from Squadron 604, Wing 6.
She has logged nearly 1,190 hours on a variety of light aircraft, including the Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainer, the Piper PA-34 Seneca, CT-4E Airtrainer and the Mooney M20M. The Queen also spent time in the L-39 jet trainer, which allowed her to progress from the light aircraft onto the Gripen.
Interestingly, the Queen has served as a co-pilot to King Vajiralongkorn during long flights to perform royal duties across Thailand and abroad. These include a recent state visit to Vietnam which saw the two land a Boeing 737-800 royal jet at Hanoi amid heavy rain.
Royal Thai Air Force Gripen
Thailand originally ordered six Gripen C/D fighters in 2008, with a follow up order for six more made in 2010. All aircraft would be delivered to 701 Squadron by 2013, however one would later be lost in a January 2017 crash, killing Squadron leader Dilokrit Pattavee in the process.
Since then, the RTAF Gripen made its combat debut, as well as the first weapon employment in combat for all Gripens world wide, with a number of aircraft participating in the 2025 border clashes against Cambodia. The Gripens pre-deployed 130 km from the border at Korat Air Base, also home to the nation’s F-16 force, from where they carried out several bombing raids against Cambodian targets.
This article by contributor Levente Benedek published recently here at The Aviationist explains more about these border clashes and the involvement of the RTAF.
🇹🇭 H.M. Queen Suthida fly Saab #Gripen C.
After training in simulator and 10 flight hours in Gripen D, Her Majesty successfully conducted a first solo flight in Gripen C this morning October 8th.
H.M. the King observed preflight checks, takeoff and landing. #Wing7
📷Phralan https://t.co/gpEhhKoPlq
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) October 8, 2026
In 2025, the RTAF has signed a deal with SAAB for three Gripen E jets and one Gripen F, worth around US$556 million (S$712 million), with deliveries due by 2030. Thai officials have outlined a broader plan for a total of 12 Gripen E/F over the next decade, which will be used to replace the older F-16s.
These aircraft are used by 102 Squadron stationed at Korat, and are due to retire in 2028. The RTAF will employ both Gripen types at the same time in a similar plan that the Swedish Air Force has adopted.
In May 2026, an RTAF delegation led by Air Chief Marshal Sekesan reviewed the start of assembly of the first Thai Gripen E at Saab’s facility in Linköping, Sweden. Saab has confirmed deliveries under the contract will take place by 2030.
Thailand also has a second fighter requirement for 12-14 aircraft, slated to replace the air force’s F-5E/F Tiger IIs from FY2031-2035, as well as a third project to succeed further F-16A/Bs from FY2037-2046. The later F-16s are reportedly intended to be replaced by a 5th generation fighter.
Royalty in Aircraft
Monarchs and other royalty flying fast jets and other aircraft is nothing new, but it is always interesting to point out, due to the distinct role that royalty often plays in the militaries of each nation that has a monarchy.
The United Kingdom has multiple examples, with William, Prince of Wales, and Harry, Duke of Sussex, having both flown with the UK’s armed forces. Prince William joined the British Army in 2006, but his position as heir to the throne meant that he was not allowed to participate in combat duties.
He was known as Lieutenant Wales during his time there, a moniker that would remain as he transferred his commission to the Royal Air Force in 2009. In the RAF he flew the Sea King search-and-rescue helicopter out of RAF Valley, and during his service he conducted 156 search-and-rescue operations, resulting in 149 people being rescued.
Before finally assuming full-time royal duties in 2017, he joined the East Anglian Air Ambulance for two years as a pilot, where he flew the Airbus H145. This service built upon his SAR career and he now sits as the patron of the London Air Ambulance charity.
Prince Harry, on the other hand, was allowed to deploy on combat operations and went to Afghanistan, first as a joint tactical air controller (JTAC) and later as a pilot of the British Army’s Apache AH1 gunship. He deployed in 2012 to Camp Bastion, where he would stay for 20 weeks before returning to the UK.
In his 2023 memoir Spare he claimed that he flew on six combat missions that resulted in him killing 25 Taliban insurgents. After his time in Afghanistan, he would be moved to a staff officer role where he set up the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style sporting event for injured servicemen and women, which still goes on today.
⚡️🇬🇧 British Westland WS-61 “Sea King” helicopter on patrol in 🇺🇦Ukraine.
Despite the fact that it is quite old (it played a historic role in the Falklands conflict, Prince Andrew flew on it), Ukrainian pilots praise it as a useful, reliable and easy-to-manage helicopter. https://t.co/M2PQ5X3ZOQ
— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian) April 13, 2023
Their uncle, the now disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and former prince, also flew combat missions during the Falklands War, where he served with 820 Naval Air Squadron on board the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. His actions during the conflict earned him praise including from Harrier FRS1 pilot and Commander of 801 Squadron Nigel Sharkey Ward, who in his memoir Sea Harrier Over the Falklands described Andrew as “an excellent pilot and a very promising officer.”
Outside of the British Royal Family, King Philippe of Belgium reportedly flew Alpha Jets and F-16s during his military career, whilst Princess Salma bint Abdullah of Jordan is a Jordanian Air Force Pilot. Princess Salma notably participated in a high-profile C-130 cargo airdrop mission delivering urgent medical supplies to the Jordanian field hospital in northern Gaza.
The Jordanian Royal Family is full of pilots, with King Abdullah having served in the Jordanian Air Force in its anti-tank helicopter wing, where he was trained to fly Cobra gunships. His son, the Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, is a Major in the Jordanian Air Force, where he was trained to fly the Blackhawk helicopter, taking his first solo flight in May 2018.
Royalty in aircraft is slightly more common than would be initially believed.
